Classical Realism Art
What is Classical Realism Art? This question has been at the forefront of many artists’ discussions. Some call it “Realism” while others prefer to call it “Performance”. I prefer to call it “Classical Realism”. The reason I choose to use this word is because classical realists (writers, artists, musicians and others) have been critiqued for some of their “realism” in the art form.
Some call classical realism “Einsteinian” because they feel it is a break from reality. They feel that classical works attempt to capture the universe of the human mind and then present it to the audience as being real. This is not entirely true. For example, I have always found Leonardo da Vinci’s art to be very real to me. It seems to portray truths in a highly figurative manner to make them more appealing.
In contrast, many modern artists would argue against classical realism thinking and the reality of reality. They would say that all art is a lie. This is one of the most heated debates in the art world but why is this so?
I think it is the appreciation of beauty. Classical thinking is appreciation of the physical world, in all its glory. This is an appreciation that reaches beyond the mind into the physical realm. It recognizes that the mind can create a reality in the physical realm. This appreciation then ties into the idea that artists should seek to capture this into their art.
This does not mean that the reality of reality is less important than beauty. On the contrary, the reality is very important to artists. What is Classical is the ability of the artist to realize what is seen in the physical realm. Is the beauty seen in the form of a painting, a sculpture or a work of art? No, reality is important because it ties into the idea that beauty is the end product of what is seen.
There are artists who work within the confines of what is real. These artists create works that are completely real. In other words, everything is considered to be part of the work. However, most artists do not work this way. They let their minds wander into the realm of the unreal.
One thing that is clear about what is classical is that people do enjoy art that depicts things from the past. People have always enjoyed this genre of art because it allows them to escape into a time and place where things were much different. We all have a desire to look back into history and to relive those times. This desire ties into the idea that people appreciate quality work of any kind.
A little bit of what is classical can be found in modern art as well. Nowadays, many people are starting to turn to abstract expressionism and other forms of non-representational art. Again, we want to escape into the past and view things from an abstract viewpoint. People can appreciate art in this manner without being too caught up in what is real or realist. People just enjoy looking at beautiful things.