The Importance Of Realism In The Man With A Hoe?

Realism began to appear in France in the 18th century. During this time there were many artists who began creating paintings using this style of art. Jean-Francois Millet was one of these artists that picked up on this style of art; Millet was a realist painter during the 19th century, living from 1814 to 1875. Realism was popular after the French Revolution of 1848. During this revolution the monarchy of Louis-Philippe was overturned, and the Realism art period flourished under the Second Empire of Napoleon III. Many people during this time period rejected the idea of idealized Classicism and the exotic themes of Romanticism for paintings that showed reality. A political reform paved the way for an artistic reform as well. Realist painters often used very minute detail in their paintings. Their focus was to accurately capture the details of real things, and these painters did not want to leave out any small details that they felt …show more content…
This controversial painting was started in 1860 and it was completed in 1862. The painting was very controversial because the man in the painting was considered brutish and frightening. It was also believed that this painting was a socialist protest about the peasant’s plight. The man in the painting is very large and exhausted. He is doing a very difficult job by turning the rocky, thistle ridden ground into a productive field like the one that is viewed behind him. The man in the foreground is supposed to be wearing a white shirt, but his shirt has a brown hue to it due to him sweating and then creating dust when turning the dirt. This detail is very important, because, this small detail makes the painting seem much more realistic. This painting also seems like it is at the end of the day because the sky is very dark and it seems rather overcast. There is a woman burning something that can be seen in a finished field behind the man with a