FREE ESSAY ON FAA HUMAN RESOURCE

FAA HUMAN RESOURCE

HAMPTON UNIVERSITY
HAMPTON, VIRGINIA
HUMANITIES PROGRAM
Exploring Realism, and Romanticism
A
SHORT PAPER
PRESENTED TO
MR. OMPOFO & MR. LYONS
FOR
HUMANITIES 202-05
ENDURING HUMAN VALUES AND CULTURAL CONNECTIONS
April 15, 2000
Realism and Romanticism
Romanticism dominated the art and culture of the West until almost the last decade of the
nineteenth century. The Realist point of view began to form as early as the 1850's. As a
start, realism called for an objective and unidealized assessment of everyday life. The
word realism is often used in both philosophy and the arts, though in each field the
meaning is quite different. In philosophy realism had a different meaning in the ancient
world than it does in its modern application. Realism in the arts refers to accurate and
detailed depictions of life and its problems whether in painting literature, drama, or
film. Realism was first proposed in France in the middle of the nineteenth century. There
are varying points of view on the uses of realism. Some painters and writers believed
that realist art should be accurate and detached. Others insist that the purpose of
realism is to illustrate the problems of the underprivileged and to promote social
change. 
The first painter to claim himself as a realist painter was Gustave Courbet. In his
opinion painting was an art of the visible and concrete. In the United States, the 19th
and 20th realist painters were William Harnett, John Peto, Thomas Eakins, Robert Henri,
William Glackens, and many more.
Among the leading ancient philosophers the leading realist was Plato. He believed that
reality consisted of eternal ideas or forms, not the observable world. Every separate
object in the world is only an expression of possibilities inherent in a form. In modern
philosophy, realism refers to the belief that the world of physical objects exists
independently of human observation, and it is the task of scientists to investigate the
nature of reality.
Romanticism is used to describe the forces that have helped shape the modern world. So
influential, Romanticism has been around since the late 18th century that one author
called it "the profoundest cultural transformation in human history since the invention
of the city." It was not a movement; it was a series of movements that had dynamic
impacts on art, literature, science, religion, economics, politics, and the individuals
understanding of self. Not all streams of Romanticism were the same; some were in fact
almost completely opposite in their effect. 
Romanticism did not erupt suddenly; it is dated back to 1774 during the publication of
Johann Von Goethe's 'Sorrows of Werther'. It was a novel about a young man who was so
disappointed in love that he kills himself. This fictional suicide brought on many real
ones as the novels voyage swept across Europe. 
Throughout more than two centuries since its emergence, Romanticism has taken a number of
twists and turns. Some of its phases were complete contradictions of others, yet its
dynamism has not diminished.