52-04 British Art 1900-50 - Realism in the 1920s and 30s

[@pawnoir]

Merci pour cette belle présentation et ces délicieuses anecdotes.

[@IndoonaOceans]

Interesting thank you. I recently bought a painting of Charles Herrick called ‘The Meeting’ circa 1930.An old man sits under a tree in a park with his dog and a younger woman is talking to him with her baby’s pram to one side.It is a realist work I would say although not completely photorealistic or brushless. He usually did posters etc for the London Underground and is known for the lion Wembley symbol but he also evidently did realism.

[@margauxpl2344]

Thank you very much for this video.

[@BB-rw5yf]

Just shows my ignorance re my comment on ‘plastic’ There’s also a waxy feel, I think your in depth look at artists lives from a-b are most interesting, I started out with David Hockney and Andy Warhol ‘Juxtaposed’ went on to Laura Knight. When I go to Exhibitions I’m particularly interested in the artists very early work but it is seldom that this formative period is so thoughtfully delved into. So I shall enjoy going on with the series.

[@LaurenceShafe]

Thank you for your comments. Many art historians feel that analysing an artwork in the context of the artist's biography restricts the interpretation. They feel the artwork is independent of the artist and her or his particular special circumstances. However, I agree with you that the artist's early work and personal history adds another dimension to the work without constraining it.

[@BB-rw5yf]

Dont think plastic as such was invented at that time, but get your point, though I find the style intriguing it showed a reflection of the period that would be lacking if this style didn’t exist.!! Was this just a British style, I recall Australians who painted in this era but are their Europeans who espoused this style.

[@LaurenceShafe]

After the First World War many European artists rejected modernism. This was called the 'Return to Order' and in Germany it took the form of the 'New Objectivity' movement. By the way, the word plastic is from the Ancient Greek work plastikos meaning "capable of being shaped or molded" and I was using it to describe painted figures that look as if they have been molded. Hope that helps.

[@maxlinder5262]

Okay....So Merle Oberon would be realistic ..as opposed to naturalism ...but both being so close in nature it might be hard to tell the difference ... Your first painting doesn't really look like either to me ....I looked up the two schools of art 🎨 so they can be closely related .... confusing to me ...🤔... just my opinion...... Yiddish ...chachkies... ..showy trinkets ..the men in the first paintings......

[@LaurenceShafe]

Like many art terms they are not precisely defined and both are used narrowly and broadly. Narrowly, Realism is a mid-nineteenth art movement of everyday life often of ordinary people, think Gustav Courbet. Broadly, realism refers to the accurate representation of the subject often described as a photographic representation although, of course, photography has its own aesthetic manipulations. This use would include Millais's 'Ophelia' even though she is a fictional character. Naturalism narrowly refers to the movement that started in the early part of the nineteenth century to paint things accurately rather than idealising them in the classical tradition, think of John Constable and the way he was criticised for painting grass and trees green rather than brown like the Old Masters. Used broadly particularly as 'realistic' and 'naturalistic' the two terms overlap and are often used interchangeably.

[@dont-want-no-wrench]

there is something uncanny and bizarre in a 30's subject handled in this style, as if they were a 16 cent sitter. realism OK sure, but if you go outside your door, that is real but not forced.