From Realism to Neoimpressionism: anarchism in French art

Abstract

This study aims to reflect on the relationship between French art and anarchism, mainly in the 19th century, emphasizing the importance of the Realism and Neoimpressionism movements, with regard to the political-libertarian position and in favor of the working class. In Realism, the friendship between Gustave Courbet and Joseph-Pierre Proudhon provided important discussions about the life of the worker and the condition of exploitation due to the power relations established by the bourgeois ruling class. This friendship resulted in the publication Du Principe de l'Art et de Sa Destination Sociale, in which Proudhon presents a defense of Courbet's plastic production. In Neoimpressionism, art critic Félix Fénéon stood out for his militancy and for the libertarian ideology that was reflected in art and literary criticism. These movements had artists who defended social causes and denounced the ills of capitalism, such as Camille Pissarro, in the series Turpitudes sociales (1889-1890). This article, therefore, offers considerations that can serve to think about the current condition of the working class.