From realism to neorealism

In this study, starting from the artists with socially realistic tendencies in the second half of the 18th century to the concept of "Realism" in pictorial sense which emerged in the second half of the 19th century, "Neo-Realism" movement that appeared in 1960s and other movements and new artistic techniques affecting Neo-Realism were researched. In the first chapter which starts as "Western Realism", the period in which artists who created art works about this subject before Realism such as Francisco Goya, Theodore Gericault, Eugene Delacroix and their works within the scope of realism were researched. Through the mid-19th century classical and romantic tendencies, Gustave Courbet's "Realism" movement which relies on concrete facts and which is considered as a revolution in art were explained. How this "Realism" movement that can be accepted as a basis turned into "Social Realism" that is practiced in different countries by different artists, but with the same language, "Critical Realism" and "Socialist Realism" ideologically embraced mostly in Russia-Mexico was explained. In the second chapter starting with general artistic tendencies from the first to the last quarter of the 20th century, movements like "Dada" and "Pop Art" which react urban life and industrialization offered by it together with modernization, mass production arisen from mechanization and processes emerged from world wars were explained. The use of new techniques "Collage", Assemblage", "Photomontage" and "Ready-Made" in this period when artists were mostly in new pursuits was indicated. In the last chapter, "Neo-Realism" which was shaped on the bases of "Dada" in Western art in 1950s, which uses similar techniques and ways of expression with its contemporary "Pop Art", but which was a group gathered in 1960 by Pierre Restany who was a critic to destroy the boundaries between modern life and art and Neo Realists were mentioned.