Thomas Pollock Anshutz: An American Realist

Thomas Pollock Anshutz - A Rose - 1907 - Oil on canvas - 147.3 × 111.4 cm (58 × 43.9 in) - The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New YorkThomas Pollock Anshutz (1851-1912) was an American painter and teacher. Co-founder of The Darby School and leader at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Anshutz was known for his award winning portraiture work and working friendship with Thomas Eakins (who was also his mentor). Unfortunately, Eakins was forced to resign from the Academy in 1886 when a scandal was sparked by his use of a fully nude male model in a class where female students were in attendance. Anshutz did not defend his mentor. In fact, he turned against him. 

Philip Pearlstein - Contemporary Realism

Philip Pearlstein - Portrait of Alex Katz - 1978 - Oil on aluminum cutout painted front and back - H. 48, W. 32-1/2 inches (121.9 x 82.6 cm.) - Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (click photo for larger image)Contemporary Realism is a straightforward realistic approach to representation that continues to be widely practiced in the post-abstract era. It is different from Photorealism, which is a style that closely resembles photographs, but which is somewhat exaggerated, ironic and conceptual. One of the artists associated with Contemporary Realism was Phillip Pearlstein (born 1924). Pearlstein is hailed by critics as a preeminent figural painter (in the context of modernism).

Striking States of Nature

Oswald Achenbach - Fireworks in Naples - 1875 - Oil on canvas, 66 x 102 cm - The Hermitage, St. Petersburg (click photo for larger image)German painter Oswald Achenbach (1827-1905) studied at the Kunstakademie in Düsseldorf, as did his elder brother, the painter Andreas Achenbach (1815-1910). Oswald’s brother was the main influence on him, other than his teacher, Johann Wilhelm Schirmer (1807-1863). At a very early stage in his artistic development, he began to prepare studies for landscapes in the area around Düsseldorf, sketching boulders, rocks, bushes, trees and people. From 1843 he went on many study tours, visiting Bavaria in 1843 and northern Italy and Switzerland in 1845. The Bavarian and Italian Alps stimulated him to create a unified approach to landscape painting. Achenbach's favorite theme was the striking states of nature: a moonlit night, thunderclouds, fog, and so on. In the present work, his effective approach doubles the real-life event in pursuit of the same goal--a powerful visual impression.

Gustave Courbet - A Real Realist

Gustave Courbet - After Dinner at Ornans - 1849 - Oil on canvas, 195 x 257 cm - Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lille (click photo for larger image)French painter Gustave Courbet (1819-1877) challenged Romanticism so actively that he became the leader of the Realist movement. His aim was not to embellish or idealize reality--but to reproduce it accurately. In this regard, Courbet had a profound impact on Modern Art. He succeeded in avoiding what he believed were the artistic clichés, contrived idealism, and timeworn models of art. The work featured here--”After Dinner at Ornans”--is a large-scale composition that cemented Courbet’s reputation. Exhibited at the 1849 Salon, “After Dinner at Ornans” is set around a table in Caravaggesque fashion. It is a masterpiece of genre painting--and it won Courbet a gold medal that insured him exhibition rights at the Salon, without having to submit to a jurying process.

Detailed Urban Landscape Images Are Actually Ultra-Realistic Paintings

The gifted artist, Nathan Walsh, at workNathan Walsh - A Finished Product (click photo for larger image)

“Nathan Walsh (born 1972) is an English realist painter who specializes in urban landscapes. He pays tribute to some of the world’s most beautiful cities, like New York, Chicago or London, through photo-realistic paintings of various urban locations.”

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This artist goes through a lengthy, meticulous process to create his wonderful works--and feels that process is far superior to working from photographs. The process becomes an “experience” in Walsh’s view.