Neorealism (art)

In art, neorealism was established by the ex-Camden Town Group painters Charles Ginner and Harold Gilman at the beginning of World War I. They set out to explore the spirit of their age through the shapes and colours of daily life. Their intentions were proclaimed in Ginner’s manifesto in New Age (1 January 1914), which was also used as the preface to Gilman and Ginner’s two-man exhibition of that year. It attacked the academic and warned against the ‘decorative’ aspect of imitators of Post-Impressionism. The best examples of neorealist work is that produced by these two artists and also by Robert Bevan, whose short-lived Cumberland Market Group they joined in 1914.^[1]

In cinema

Neorealism is characterized by a general atmosphere of authenticity. André Bazin, a French film theorist and critic, argued that neorealism portrays: truth, naturalness, authenticity, and is a cinema of duration. The necessary characteristics of neo-realism in film include:^[2]

• a definite social context;
• a sense of historical actuality and immediacy;
• political commitment to progressive social change;
• authentic on-location shooting as opposed to the artificial studio;
• a rejection of classical Hollywood acting styles; extensive use of non-professional actors as much as possible;
• a documentary style of cinematography.

Films

Precursors

Italian

Other countries

In photography

Canadian photographer Jeff Wall specialises in neo-realism and tableau vivant—representations and recreations of actual events in a poetic form.

See also

• History of cinema
• Nouveau réalisme, a later French art movement

References

External links

• Neorealism at the Internet Movie Database.