Social Tendency Quotes

“Naturalism is not a homogeneous, clear-cut conception of art, always based on the same idea of nature, but changes with the times, concerned with a concrete task and confining its interpretation of life to particular phenomena. One professes a belief in naturalism, not because one consider a naturalistic representation more artistic a prior than a stylizing, but because one discovers a trait, a tendency in reality on which one would like to put more emphasis, which one would either to promote or fight against. Such a discovery is not itself the result of naturalistic observation, on the contrary, the interest in naturalism is the result of such a discovery. The 1830 generation begins its literary career with the recognition that the structure of society has completely changed; partly it accepts, partly opposes this change, but, in any case, it reacts to it in an extremely activism fashion and it naturalistic approach is derived from this activism. Naturalism is not aimed at reality as a whole, not at "nature" or "life" in general, but at social life in particular, that is, at that province of reality which has become specially important for this generation.”
― Arnold Hauser, The Social History of Art: Volume 4: Naturalism, Impressionism, The Film Age