History of Realism:

This movement began in the late 1800s and carried on through to the early 1900s. Realistic painters began to focus their work on REAL people and REAL everyday lives. Realistic artists could paint average occasions with normal people. 

The image to the left was done by Winslow Homer in 1885. This work is typical realism because of its subject matter - nothing royal or religious here! Just a painting demonstrating the everyday activities of life. 

Characteristics of Realistic Paintings:

Realistic painting attempts to demonstrate what the eyes actually see, including human hardships.

This goal of accuracy includes color choice, subject matter, and brush strokes. The painting should represent the subject clearly and viewers should know what they are looking at. 

History of Abstract Painting: 

Abstract art grew as a field from one major technological advancement: the invention of the camera. Before the camera, painting was predominantly used to convey images and people as they were; however, with the camera the need for realistic paintings and portraits sharply declined. In this moment, abstract art was born. Its focus is not the subject matter, as in realism, but rather it attempts to create aesthetically pleasing and challenging works for enjoyment. As many people say, abstract art is "art for art's sake."

Characteristics of Abstract Painting: 

Abstract art does not need to have any subject matter at all. If it does have a subject, such as the de Kooning painting, "Woman"  earlier in the slideshow, it is usually distorted in some way, either by simplifying the shapes or exaggerating main areas of the image. It does not need to be representational of a human figure, bowl of fruits, etc. The colors, shapes, and combinations of these two are what matter in abstract art.