Realism was an artistic movement that began in France in the 1850s, after the
1848 Revolution. Realists rejected
Romanticism, which had dominated French literature and art since the late 18th century. Realism revolted against the exotic subject matter and exaggerated emotionalism and drama of the Romantic movement. Instead it sought to portray real and typical contemporary people and situations with truth and accuracy, and not avoiding unpleasant or sordid aspects of life. Realist works depicted people of all classes in situations that arise in ordinary life, and often reflected the changes brought by the
Industrial and
Commercial Revolutions. The popularity of such "realistic" works grew with the introduction of
photography—a new visual source that created a desire for people to produce representations which look objectively real.