Although Courbet’s After the Hunt and Eakin’s The Champion Single Sculls have a different subject matter, nevertheless, the paintings belong to realism that they share the same style of form that involves two different day to day events and attempts to accurately depict contemporary situations. In Courbet’s After the Hunt, a Hunter the figures are casually compressed, the dead animals laid on the forest floor. The dominating figure of the painting the hunter is depicted in stark colours holding a dead partridge checking his prey with the mixed feeling of satiation and hunger. Brushwork is invisible and lines are eliminated. The background of the picture covers trees and wild grass, the main focus of the picture is the ‘hunt’, the hunter and the animals both dead and alive. Most importantly the very compressed nature of the painting pulls the viewer inside the frame as if the painter was part of the scene when he painted it. The painting is rich in its depiction of objects as there is less negative space as the frame is filled with many objects such as animals, the hunter, the trees and grass. Apart from the hunting scene the use of light depicts its sheer realism, the viewer can sense the time and by the costume, one can guess its 19th century France.
If in Courbet’s After the Hunt the figures are compressed Eakin’s The Champion Single Scull has a broad angle, the composition covers a lot of negative space with two figures one almost unrecognizable are sculling reflecting a mood of tranquillity and stillness. The painting depicts the non-dramatic moment of victory is painted in its supreme realism as if photographed by a cameraman from a relative elevation covered with a plenty of objects including human, a ship, the bridge, the trees and the sky. The use of light is amazing, the shadows of the objects are portrayed perfectly. The location is Schuylkill River, giving a sense of exotic beauty, serene and calm unlike Courbet’s After the Hunt. Both paintings represent realism using different techniques yet sharing the same style with the different subject matter. Furthermore, the paintings reflect the cultural attitudes of their times, the theme of the Eakin’s painting represent the cultural values of health benefits of his time while Courbet’s image reflects the common practice of hunting in France.
