The interpretation of the term "realism" in the art history theory of the West (from the 60s of the XXth century – to nowadays)

Abstract

The interpretation of the term "realism" in the art history theory of the West (from the 60s of the XXth century – to nowadays)

The purpose of the article is to determine the meaning of the term "realism" as defined in scientific research of Western art critics, to fix the level of the problem prior to studies outside the post-Soviet art doctrine. The research methodology is the use of the hermeneutic method, whereby the term "realism" has been revealed through this word interpretation drawn on a variety of textual sources related to the cultural sphere; the historical-genetic method whereby the transition from semantic (narrow) definition to a broad term interpretation has been studied within the period from the mid-nineteenth century to the present; historical-systemic method due to which the realism has been researched with reference to the political, cultural conditions of the epoch from the time of the term appearing till metamodern days. The scientific novelty is the systematic analysis and introduction into scientific circulation of concepts of realism from a foreign art history source base, determining the status of the study of the realism issue in Western art theory. Conclusions. To date, the phenomenon of realism has not been thoroughly studied. There is a small number of publications in the West where the study of realism is systematic. Western scholars, despite the spread use of the term in the modern art sphere, avoid providing generalized, universal definitions; attention is paid to the description of movements, which according to the opinions of art historians should be considered realistic. Thus, the study of the realism problem is not completed in Western culture, it is at the start: at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries, attempts are being made, first, to reconsider the critical attitude to realism, carried down from the middle of the twentieth century, secondly, to point up distinctive features, the content of this widely used category.

Key words: realism, realistic image, realism movements, figurative composition, illusionism, naturalism