eny that art can be taught…art is completely individual…art or talent to an artist can only be (in my opinion) the means of applying his personal faculties to the ideas and the objects of the time in which he lives…art in painting can only consist of the representation of objects that are visible and tangible to the artist…I believe that the artists of one century are completely incompetent when it comes to depicting the objects of a preceding or future century, in other words, to paint either the past or the future.” (Holt, pg.351) Courbet’s paintings were judged as not fit for exhibition in France on political grounds. (Time magazine) These ideas of Courbet’s are central to the broad beliefs of Realism, although Courbet did not consider himself to be of any particular movement. “I am Courbetist, that’s all. My painting is the only true one. I am the first and unique artist of the century; the others are students or drivellers.” (Time magazine) Realism does not strive for perfection, as in Romanticism. It accepts the natural beauty of things, even if they are imperfect.Both of these pictures are characteristic of the time periods they come from. They have more similarities than is apparent at first, however. The fact that the paint on both pictures was applied in part with a palette knife is an important similarity. The purposes of this technique, however, were very different. The Hay Wain had paint applied in this way in order to evoke feelings from the viewer, while The Stonebreakers was done in this way to make the picture look less like a painting and more realistic. Both paintings also had the goal of finding Truth, but in Romanticism, truth was embodied by nature, in Realism truth was found in everyday events and normality. Although both of these paintings are of the working class, they make the viewer feel very different, which is what distinguishes the two...
