Realism in Russian art of the 19th century. Realism in literature

Introduction

A new type of realism emerged in the 19th century. This is critical realism. It differs significantly from the Renaissance and from the Enlightenment. Its flourishing in the West is associated with the names of Stendhal and Balzac in France, Dickens, Thackeray in England, and in Russia - A. Pushkin, N. Gogol, I. Turgenev, F. Dostoevsky, L. Tolstoy, A. Chekhov.

Critical realism portrays in a new way the relationship between man and environment. Human character is revealed in organic connection with social circumstances. The subject of deep social analysis has become the inner world of man; critical realism at the same time becomes psychological.

Development of Russian realism

A special feature of the historical aspect of the development of Russia in the mid-19th century is the situation after the Decembrist uprising, as well as the emergence of secret societies and circles, the appearance of works by A.I. Herzen, a circle of Petrashevites. This time is characterized by the beginning of the raznochinsky movement in Russia, as well as the acceleration of the process of formation of the world artistic culture, including Russian ones. realism Russian creativity social

Creativity of realist writers

In Russia, the 19th century was a period of exceptional strength and scope in the development of realism. In the second half of the century, the artistic achievements of realism brought Russian literature to the international arena and won it worldwide recognition. The richness and diversity of Russian realism allow us to talk about its different forms.

Its formation is associated with the name of Pushkin, who led Russian literature onto the broad path of depicting “the fate of the people, the fate of man.” In the conditions of the accelerated development of Russian literature, Pushkin seems to be making up for its previous lag, paving new paths in almost all genres and, with his universality and his optimism, turning out to be akin to the talents of the Renaissance.

Griboedov and Pushkin, and after them Lermontov and Gogol, comprehensively reflected the life of the Russian people in their works.

Writers of the new movement are united by the fact that for them there are no high or low objects for life. Everything that is encountered in reality becomes the subject of their depiction. Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol populated their works with heroes of “lower, middle, and upper classes.” They truly revealed their inner world.

Writers of the realistic school saw in life and showed in their works that “a person living in society depends on it both in the way he thinks and in the way he acts.”

Unlike the romantics, realistic writers show character literary hero not only as an individual phenomenon, but also as a result of certain, historically established social relations. Therefore, the character of the hero of a realistic work is always historical.

A special place in the history of Russian realism belongs to L. Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. It was thanks to them that the Russian realistic novel acquired global significance. Their psychological mastery, penetration into the “dialectic” of the soul opened the way for the artistic quest of writers of the 20th century. Realism in the 20th century throughout the world bears the imprint of the aesthetic discoveries of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. It is important to emphasize that Russian realism of the 19th century did not develop in isolation from the world historical and literary process.

The revolutionary liberation movement played a major role in the realistic understanding of social reality. Until the first powerful uprisings of the working class, the essence of bourgeois society and its class structure remained largely mysterious. The revolutionary struggle of the proletariat made it possible to remove the seal of mystery from the capitalist system and expose its contradictions. Therefore, it is quite natural that it was in the 30-40s of the 19th century that Western Europe Realism is being established in literature and art. Exposing the vices of serfdom and bourgeois society, the realist writer finds beauty in the very objective reality. His goodie not elevated above life (Bazarov in Turgenev, Kirsanov, Lopukhov in Chernyshevsky, etc.). As a rule, it reflects the aspirations and interests of the people, the views of the advanced circles of the bourgeois and noble intelligentsia. Realistic art bridges the gap between ideal and reality, characteristic of romanticism. Of course, in the works of some realists there are vague romantic illusions where we are talking about the embodiment of the future (“The Dream of a Funny Man” by Dostoevsky, “What to Do?” Chernyshevsky...), and in this case we can rightfully talk about the presence in their work romantic tendencies. Critical realism in Russia was a consequence of the rapprochement of literature and art with life.

Critical realism took a step forward along the path of democratization of literature also in comparison with the work of the enlighteners of the 18th century. He took a much broader view of his contemporary reality. Feudal modernity entered the works of critical realists not only as the arbitrariness of serf owners, but also as the tragic situation of the masses - the serf peasantry, the dispossessed urban people.

Russian realists of the mid-19th century depicted society in contradictions and conflicts, which reflected the real movement of history and revealed the struggle of ideas. As a result, reality appeared in their work as an “ordinary flow,” as a self-propelled reality. Realism reveals its true essence only if art is considered by writers as a reflection of reality. In this case, the natural criteria of realism are depth, truth, objectivity in revealing the internal connections of life, typical characters acting in typical circumstances, and the necessary determinants of realistic creativity are historicism, the nationality of the artist’s thinking. Realism is characterized by the image of a person in unity with his environment, the social and historical concreteness of the image, conflict, plot, and the widespread use of such genre structures as the novel, drama, story, story.

Critical realism was marked by an unprecedented spread of epic and drama, which noticeably replaced poetry. Among the epic genres, the novel gained the greatest popularity. The reason for its success is mainly that it allows the realist writer to most fully implement the analytical function of art, to expose the causes of social evil.

At the origins of Russian realism of the 19th century is Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. In his lyrics one can see a contemporary social life with its social contrasts, ideological quests, the struggle of progressive people against political and serfdom. The poet's humanism and nationality, along with his historicism, are the most important determinants of his realistic thinking.

Pushkin’s transition from romanticism to realism was manifested in “Boris Godunov” mainly in a specific interpretation of the conflict, in recognition of the decisive role of the people in history. The tragedy is imbued with deep historicism.

The further development of realism in Russian literature is associated primarily with the name of N.V. Gogol. The pinnacle of his realistic work is “Dead Souls”. Gogol watched with alarm as he disappeared into modern society Everything that is truly human, just as man is diminished and vulgarized. Seeing art as an active force social development, Gogol cannot imagine creativity that is not illuminated by the light of a high aesthetic ideal.

The continuation of Pushkin and Gogol traditions was the work of I.S. Turgenev. Turgenev gained popularity after the publication of “Notes of a Hunter.” Turgenev’s achievements in the genre of the novel are enormous (“Rudin”, “ Noble nest", "The Eve", "Fathers and Sons"). In this area, his realism acquired new features.

Turgenev's realism was expressed most clearly in the novel Fathers and Sons. His realism is complex. It shows the historical concreteness of the conflict, reflections of the real movement of life, the truthfulness of details, the “eternal questions” of the existence of love, old age, death - the objectivity of the image and tendentiousness, penetrating lyricism.

Democratic writers (I.A. Nekrasov, N.G. Chernyshevsky, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, etc.) brought a lot of new things into realistic art. Their realism was called sociological. What it has in common is the denial of the existing serfdom system, the demonstration of its historical doom. Hence the sharpness of social criticism and the depth of artistic exploration of reality.

Realism as literary direction

Literature is a constantly changing, continuously developing phenomenon. Speaking about the changes that have occurred in Russian literature in different centuries, it is impossible to ignore the topic of successive literary trends.

Definition 1

A literary direction is a set of ideological and aesthetic principles characteristic of the works of many authors of the same era.

There are a huge variety of literary trends. This includes classicism, romanticism, and sentimentalism. A separate chapter in the history of the development of literary movements is realism.

Definition 2

Realism is a literary movement that strives for an objective and truthful reproduction of the surrounding reality.

Realism tries to depict reality without distortion or exaggeration.

There is an opinion that in fact realism originated in the period of Antiquity and was characteristic of the works of ancient Roman and ancient Greek writers. Some researchers separately distinguish ancient realism and realism of the Renaissance.

Realism reached its highest point in both Europe and Russia in the middle of the 19th century.

Realism in Russian literature of the 19th century

Realism replaced the previously dominant romanticism in literature. In Russia, realism originated in the 1830s, reaching its peak by the middle of the century. Realist writers consciously refused to use any sophisticated techniques, mystical ideas or attempts to idealize a character in their works. Realists use ordinary, sometimes even everyday images, transferring the real person as she is onto the pages of their books.

As a rule, works written in the spirit of realism are distinguished by their life-affirming beginning. Unlike romantic works, in which the acute conflict between the hero and society rarely ended in anything good.

Note 1

Realism sought to find truth and justice, to change the world for the better.

Separately, it is worth highlighting critical realism, a direction that actively developed in the middle of the 19th century and soon became leading in literature.

The development of Russian realism is associated primarily with the names of A.S. Pushkin and N.V. Gogol. They were among the first Russian writers who moved from romanticism to realism, to a reliable, rather than idealized, depiction of reality. In their works, the lives of the heroes for the first time began to be accompanied by a detailed and realistic social background.

Note 2

A.S. Pushkin is considered the founder of Russian realism.

Pushkin was the first to convey on the pages of his works the essence of the most important events in the life of a Russian person, presenting them as they were - vivid and, most importantly, contradictory. The analysis of the internal experiences of the characters deepens, the inner world becomes richer and wider, the characters themselves become more and more alive and close to real people.

Russian realism XIX there was increased attention to the socio-political life of Russia. At that time the country was experiencing big changes, stood on the threshold of the abolition of serfdom. The fate of the common people, the relationship between man and government, the future of Russia - all these themes are found in the works of realist writers.

The emergence of critical realism, the goal of which was to address the most pressing issues, is directly related to the situation in Russia.

Some works of Russian realist writers of the 19th century:

A.S. Pushkin - " Captain's daughter", "Dubrovsky", "Boris Godunov";
M.Yu. Lermontov - “Hero of Our Time” (with features of romanticism);
N.V. Gogol - “Dead Souls”, “The Inspector General”;
I.A. Goncharov - “Oblomov”, “Ordinary History”;
I.S. Turgenev - “Fathers and Sons”, “Rudin”;
F.M. Dostoevsky - “Crime and Punishment”, “ Poor people", "Idiot";
L.N. Tolstoy - " Anna Karenina", "Sunday";
A.P. Chekhov - " Cherry Orchard", "Man in a Case";
A.I. Kuprin - “Olesya”, “ Garnet bracelet", "Pit".

Realism in Russian literature of the 20th century

The turn of the 19th and 20th centuries was a time of crisis for realism. A new direction appeared in the literature of this time - symbolism.

Definition 3

Symbolism is a movement in art that was characterized by a desire for experimentation, a desire for innovation, and the use of symbolism.

Adapting to changing life circumstances, realism changed its focus. 20th-century realism drew attention to the complexity of human personality formation, the factors influencing this process, and, most importantly, the impact of history on the main character.

Realism of the 20th century was divided into several movements:

Critical realism. Adherents of this movement adhered to the traditions of classical realism, laid down in the 19th century, and in their works they focused on the influence of society on the realities of life. This direction includes the works of A.P. Chekhov and L.N. Tolstoy;
Socialist realism. Appeared during the era of the revolution and was typical for most works of Soviet authors;
Mythological realism. This direction rethought historical events through the prism of legends and myths;
Naturalism. Naturalist writers in their works depicted reality as truthfully and in detail as possible, and therefore often unsightly. Naturalistic are “The Pit” by A.I. Kuprin and “Notes of a Doctor” by V.V. Veresaeva.

Hero in realist literature

The main characters of realistic works, as a rule, reason a lot, analyzing the world around and the world within themselves. After much thought and deliberation, they make discoveries that help them understand these worlds.

Realistic works are characterized by psychologism.

Definition 4

Psychologism - an image for the work of a rich man inner world the hero, his thoughts, feelings and experiences.

The mental and ideological life of a person becomes the object of close attention of writers.

It is important to note that the hero of a realistic work is not the person he is in real life. This is in many ways a typical image, which is often richer than the personality of a real person, who depicts not so much an individual personality, but general patterns life of a certain historical era.

But, of course, the heroes of realist literature are more similar to real people than others. They are so similar that they often “come to life” under the writer’s pen and begin to create their own destiny, leaving their creator as an outside observer.

Briefly about the representatives of realism in world and Russian literature is presented in this article.

Representatives of realism in literature

What is realism?

Realism is a direction in art and literature that realistically and truthfully reflects the features of reality without distortion or exaggeration. It originated in the 30s of the 19th century. Key Features:

life-affirming beginning
the plot may have a tragic conflict
description of reality in its dynamics of its development
description of new psychological, social and relationships
the main characters make their conclusions and discoveries, spend time in deep introspection

Foreign representatives of realism in literature of the 19th - 20th centuries

The initial stage of the formation of European literary realism is associated with the works of Beranger, Flaubert, and Maupassant. In France, he was a prominent representative, in England - Thackeray, Gaskell, in Germany -. Realism developed in conditions of growing tension between the labor movement and the bourgeoisie, the rise of bourgeois culture, discovered in biology and natural science. At the beginning of the twentieth century, with the advent of new non-realistic trends - impressionism, naturalism, decadence, aestheticism, the idea of realism also changed, acquiring new features.

The authors describe the social phenomena of real life, describe the social motivation of a person’s character, reveal the fate of art and the psychology of the individual. Artistic reality is based on philosophical ideas, the author’s focus on intellectually active perception, and emotions. The dramatic line gradually deepens and intensifies.

Classic representatives of realism— (“Confessions of an Adventurer Felix Krull” and “The Magic Mountain”), dramaturgy, Robert Kohler (“Strike”), Scott Fitzgerald (“Tender is the Night,” “The Great Gatsby”), Theodore Dreiser, John Steinbeck, Anna Zegers, William Faulkner , Romain Rolland, .

Representatives of realism in Russian literature of the 19th century

The founder of Russian realism is. In the works “Eugene Onegin”, “ Captain's daughter», « Bronze Horseman", "Belkin's Tales", "Boris Godunov" he captures and conveys the essence of the most important events in the life of society in all their colorfulness, diversity and inconsistency. The literature has deepened the analysis of the emotional experiences of the heroes and shows their complex inner world.

To the representatives of early Russian realism include (“Hero of Our Time”), (“Inspector General”, “ Dead souls"), ("Notes of a Hunter", "Rudin", "Fathers and Sons", "Asya"),

Paintings. Later changes occurred, mainly caused by significant social changes in society, which shifted the emphasis in the visual arts towards realism. Term realism appeared thanks to the French writer Champfleury in the mid-19th century, when the artist Gustave Courbet, after his work (The Artist's Workshop) was rejected at the World Exhibition in Paris, built his own tent next to the exhibition, and organized his own, called “Le Realism" (Le Realisme).

Artist's workshop

Characteristics

The style of realistic painting has spread to almost all genres fine arts, including portrait, landscape and historical.

Favorite subjects for realist artists are scenes of rural and urban life, the life of the working class, scenes from the streets, coffee and clubs, as well as frankness in the depiction of bodies. Not surprisingly, the unusual method shocked many middle- and upper-class people in both France and England, where realism never caught on.

Parquet floor workers. Caillebotte.

The general trend of realism was the desire to move away from the “ideal”, as was customary in the depiction of ancient mythology by Renaissance masters. In this way, realists depicted ordinary people and situations. In this sense, the movement reflects a progressive and highly influential shift in the definition of the meaning of art in general. The style remains quite popular in our time, despite the fact that it became a harbinger of impressionism and pop art.

The first realists

Interesting representatives of early realism are: Jean-François Millet, Gustav Courbet, Honoré Daumier. In addition, it is worth mentioning Ilya Repin. Some of the works of this Russian master are recognized as outstanding in this genre.

Self-portrait of Courbet

20th century realism

After horrific wars, global depression, nuclear weapons testing and other events, 20th century realists had no shortage of subjects and ideas. In fact, modern realism manifested itself in a wide variety of forms, images and schools, influencing not only painting, but also other areas of art.

Verism (1890–1900)

This Italian term refers to the extreme realism common in Italy.

Silvestro Lega on the seashore

Precisionism (1920s)

A movement that originated in America. Precisionist enthusiasts painted scenes from urban and industrial environments in a Futurist manner. Among the prominent masters it is worth highlighting Charles Sheeler, Georgia O'Keeffe and Charles Demuth.

Social realism (1920–1930)

Artists of the “social realism” genre described scenes from American life during the Great Depression and focused on ordinary issues and the complexities of everyday life.

Socialist realism in Russia (1925–1935)

A type of public art approved by Stalin during the industrialization of the country. Socialist realism glorified the new man and worker in the form of colossal murals, posters and other forms of art.

Surrealism (1920–1930)

Soft design. Dali.

The quirky art form has its roots in Paris. The Surrealists, whose ideas were initially based on the work of Sigmund Freud, sought to free the creative potential of the unconscious mind. There are two main types of surreal art - Fantasy (artists of this direction include Salvador Dali, Rene Magritte) and automatism (Juan Miro). Despite all the strangeness and relatively short peak of popularity, the style has a lasting influence on the present day. It is worth noting magical realism, combining images of everyday reality and fantasy.

American painting and regionalism (1925–1945)

Many artists, including Grant Wood (author of the popular American Gothic, written in this genre), John Stewart Curry, Thomas Hart Benton, Andrew Wyeth, and other artists, sought to embrace specific imagery inherent in America.

Photorealism emerged in the late 1960s, when some paintings became almost identical to photographs. The objects of the direction are banal and uninteresting objects, masterfully depicted by the artist. One of the first artists of the genre was Richard Estes. His works are amazing and give insight into this movement.

Hyperrealism

In the early 1970s, a radical form of realist art emerged, also known as “super-realism” and “hyperrealism.”

Other directions

Of course, these are not all styles and subtypes of realism, since there are a huge number of subgenres, based, among other things, on the traditions and culture of a particular area.

Realism in painting updated: September 15, 2017 by: Gleb

Realism is a trend in literature and art that aims to faithfully reproduce reality in its typical features. The dominance of realism followed the era of Romanticism and preceded Symbolism.

1. At the center of the work of realists is objective reality. In its refraction through the worldview of art. 2. The author subjects life material to philosophical processing. 3. The ideal is reality itself. The beautiful thing is life itself. 4. Realists approach synthesis through analysis.

5. The principle of the typical: Typical hero, specific time, typical circumstances

6. Identification of cause-and-effect relationships. 7. The principle of historicism. Realists address the problems of the present. The present is the convergence of past and future. 8. The principle of democracy and humanism. 9. The principle of objectivity of the story. 10. Socio-political and philosophical issues predominate

11. psychologism

12. .. The development of poetry is somewhat calming down 13. The novel is the leading genre.

13. Heightened social-critical pathos is one of the main features of Russian realism - for example, “The Inspector General”, “Dead Souls” by N.V. Gogol

14. The main feature of realism as a creative method is the increased attention to the social side of reality.

15. The images of a realistic work reflect the general laws of existence, and not living people. Any image is woven from typical traits manifested in typical circumstances. This is the paradox of art. An image cannot be correlated with a living person; it is richer than a specific person - hence the objectivity of realism.

16. “The artist should not be a judge of his characters and what they say, but only an impartial witness

Realist writers

Late A. S. Pushkin is the founder of realism in Russian literature (the historical drama “Boris Godunov”, the stories “The Captain’s Daughter”, “Dubrovsky”, “Belkin’s Tales”, the novel in verse “Eugene Onegin” back in the 1820s - 1830s)

M. Yu. Lermontov (“Hero of Our Time”)

N. V. Gogol (“Dead Souls”, “The Inspector General”)

I. A. Goncharov (“Oblomov”)

A. S. Griboedov (“Woe from Wit”)

A. I. Herzen (“Who is to blame?”)

N. G. Chernyshevsky (“What to do?”)

F. M. Dostoevsky (“Poor People”, “White Nights”, “Humiliated and Insulted”, “Crime and Punishment”, “Demons”)

L. N. Tolstoy (“War and Peace”, “Anna Karenina”, “Resurrection”).

I. S. Turgenev (“Rudin”, “The Noble Nest”, “Asya”, “Spring Waters”, “Fathers and Sons”, “New”, “On the Eve”, “Mu-mu”)

A. P. Chekhov (“The Cherry Orchard”, “Three Sisters”, “Student”, “Chameleon”, “The Seagull”, “Man in a Case”

Since the middle of the 19th century, the formation of Russian realistic literature has been taking place, which was created against the backdrop of the tense socio-political situation that developed in Russia during the reign of Nicholas I. A crisis of the serfdom system is brewing, and contradictions between the authorities and the common people are strong. There is an urgent need to create realistic literature that is acutely responsive to the socio-political situation in the country.

Writers turn to socio-political problems of Russian reality. The genre of the realistic novel is developing. His works are created by I.S. Turgenev, F.M. Dostoevsky, L.N. Tolstoy, I.A. Goncharov. It is worth noting the poetic works of Nekrasov, who was the first to introduce social issues into poetry. His poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'?” is known, as well as many poems that reflect on the difficult and hopeless life of the people. End of the 19th century - The realistic tradition began to fade away. It was replaced by so-called decadent literature. . Realism becomes, to a certain extent, a method of artistic cognition of reality. In the 40s, a “natural school” arose - the work of Gogol, he was a great innovator, discovering that even an insignificant event, such as the acquisition of an overcoat by a minor official, can become a significant event for understanding the most important issues of human existence.

The “Natural School” became the initial stage in the development of realism in Russian literature.

Topics: Life, customs, characters, events from the life of the lower classes became the object of study by “naturalists”. The leading genre was the “physiological essay,” which was based on accurate “photography” of the life of various classes.

In the literature of the “natural school,” the hero’s class position, his professional affiliation, and the social function he performs decisively prevailed over his individual character.

Those who joined the “natural school” were: Nekrasov, Grigorovich, Saltykov-Shchedrin, Goncharov, Panaev, Druzhinin and others.

The task of truthfully showing and exploring life presupposes in realism many techniques for depicting reality, which is why the works of Russian writers are so diverse in both form and content.

Realism as a method of depicting reality in the second half of the 19th century. received the name of critical realism, because its main task was the criticism of reality, the question of the relationship between man and society.

To what extent does society influence the fate of the hero? Who is to blame for a person being unhappy? What to do to change a person and the world? - these are the main questions of literature in general, of Russian literature of the second half of the 19th century V. - in particular.

Psychologism - the characterization of a hero through the analysis of his inner world, consideration of the psychological processes through which a person’s self-awareness is realized and his attitude to the world is expressed - has become the leading method of Russian literature since the formation of the realistic style in it.

One of the remarkable features of Turgenev’s works of the 50s was the appearance in them of a hero who embodied the idea of the unity of ideology and psychology.

Realism of the 2nd half of the 19th century reached its peak precisely in Russian literature, especially in the works of L.N. Tolstoy and F.M. Dostoevsky, who at the end of the 19th century became the central figures of the world literary process. They enriched world literature with new principles for constructing a socio-psychological novel, philosophical and moral issues, new ways of revealing the human psyche in its deep layers

Turgenev is credited with creating literary types of ideologists - heroes, whose approach to personality and characterization of their inner world is in direct connection with the author’s assessment of their worldview and the socio-historical meaning of their philosophical concepts. The merging of the psychological, historical-typological and ideological aspects in Turgenev’s heroes is so complete that their names have become a common noun for a certain stage in the development of social thought, a certain social type representing a class in its historical state, and the psychological makeup of the individual (Rudin, Bazarov, Kirsanov , Mr. N. from the story “Asya” - “Russian man on rendez-vous”).

Dostoevsky's heroes are at the mercy of ideas. Like slaves, they follow her, expressing her self-development. Having “accepted” a certain system into their soul, they obey the laws of its logic, go through all the necessary stages of its growth with it, and bear the yoke of its reincarnations. Thus, Raskolnikov, whose concept grew out of rejection of social injustice and a passionate desire for good, passing through all its logical stages along with the idea that took possession of his entire being, accepts murder and justifies the tyranny of a strong personality over the voiceless masses. In lonely monologues-reflections, Raskolnikov “strengthens” in his idea, falls under its power, gets lost in its ominous vicious circle, and then, having completed the “experience” and suffering internal defeat, begins to feverishly seek dialogue, the possibility of jointly assessing the results of the experiment.

In Tolstoy, the system of ideas that the hero develops and develops in the course of his life is a form of his communication with the environment and is derived from his character, from the psychological and moral characteristics of his personality.

It can be argued that all three great Russian realists of the mid-century - Turgenev, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky - depict the mental and ideological life of a person as a social phenomenon and ultimately presuppose obligatory contact between people, without which the development of consciousness is impossible.