neorealism is an artistic movement that occurred in the 20th century. This “new realism” presents works that are ideologically committed to social issues. The 1930s novels of Brazilian modernism bring a neorealist perspective. The post-war Italian cinema is the main representative of the cinematographic aspect.
Portugal also experienced literary neorealism. In addition, Portuguese neorealist painting was influenced by the Brazilian modernist painter Candido Portinari. In France, however, most artists did not adhere to the neorealist movement, with few works having such a perspective.
Read too: Concretism — another artistic movement that emerged in the 20th century
Abstract about neorealism
Neorealism is an artistic movement that is associated with an ideological art that denounces social problems.
In Brazil, this movement was more present in literature, specifically associated with the 1930 novel.
In Italy, he excelled in cinema, although he also had great influence in literature.
In France, the neorealist movement was almost non-existent and did not have many adherents.
In Portugal, neorealist literature had great prominence, but cinema and theater were harmed by censorship.
The term “neorealism” also exists in the context of international relations as a theoretical concept that has nothing to do with the artistic movement.
Features of neorealism
The neorealism is a “new realism”, distinct, therefore, from of 19th century realism, marked by objectivity. The artists of the “new realism” of the 20th century produced works in which the partiality of their authors is perceived. Thus, in general, neorealism has the following characteristics:
sociopolitical criticism;
absence of idealizations;
simple language;
emotional character;
social reflection;
protagonism of people of the people;
denunciation of social injustices;
colloquial language.
It is noteworthy that the neorealist literature shows the man of the people in his subordinate condition, under the exploitation of the elites. Neorealist cinema, on the other hand, can present real locations and non-professional actors. But what will define a cinematographic work as neorealist is the sociopolitical theme of the 20th century.
Neorealist painting has the same social perspective, as it shows the life of the common man in his day to day life. And, mainly, it portrays marginalized individuals, in order to register the historical and social moment of a nation, specifically the reality of the 20th century.
Brazilian neorealism
New cinema has neorealist characteristics, as it was influenced by Italian neorealist cinema. Despite having the filmmaker Glauber Rocha (1939-1981) as its main name, this cinematographic style possibly began in 1955, with the release of river, 40 degrees, by Nelson Pereira dos Santos (1928-2018).
Our neorealist literature emerges within the modernist movement. The 1930 novel is also regionalist and shows the social reality of certain regions of Brazil. It has a deterministic character and, therefore, points to the environment in which the characters live as one of the main causes for their situation of misery. Some Brazilian neorealist literary works are:
the fifteen (1930), by Rachel de Queiroz (1910-2003);
The rats (1935), by Dyonélio Machado (1895-1985);
Sand captains (1937), by Jorge Amado (1912-2001);
Dried lives (1938), by Graciliano Ramos (1892-1953).
Brazilian neorealist painting is also inserted in modernism, and its biggest name is Candido Portinari (1903-1962), who, with his painting Coffee (1935), had a great influence on Portuguese neorealist art. According to Luciene Lehmkuhl, the “textbooks of the History of Art in Portugal point to Candido Portinari as the catalyst agent of neorealism, an important artistic movement in the Portuguese arts in the 1990s 1940”|1|. Other works by Portinari, with a social theme, are:
the coffee farmer (1934);
washerwomen (1937);
Withdrawals (1944).
See too: Cubism — another artistic movement of the 20th century that manifested itself in Brazilian modernism
Italian neorealism
Italian neorealist cinema began in 1945, with the movie Rome, open city, by filmmaker Roberto Rossellini (1906-1977). And it influenced the cinematographic production of other countries, such as Brazil.
Italian neorealist literature opposes fascism and it has not only social but also existential elements. The main Italian neorealist literary works are:
conversation in Sicily (1941), by Elio Vittorini (1908-1966);
The spider nest trail (1947), by Italo Calvino (1923-1985);
Is this a man? (1947), by Primo Levi (1919-1987);
the prison (1948), by Cesare Pavese (1908-1950).
Italian neorealist painting portrayed the country man, but also images that refer to political resistance. The main artist of this movement is Renato Guttuso (1911-1987), who produced works of a social nature, such as:
shooting in the field (1938);
Etna Escape (1940);
Massacre (1943);
farmers working (1950);
The discussion (1960).
french neorealism
The presence of neorealism in French cinema was timid, so that the only highlight is the film by René Clément (1913-1996) entitled The Battle of the Rails, from 1946.
The same happened with literature.. So the novel Antoine Bloye, from 1933, associated with a “socialist realism”, is the closest to neorealism.
Neorealist painting, on the other hand, has André Fougeron (1913-1998) as its main name. and your work Parisians at the market, from 1947.
portuguese neorealism
Of an ideological and social nature, Portuguese neorealist literature begins in the late 1930s. Thus, Portuguese neorealism was inaugurated in 1939 with the publication of the novel Gaibéus, by Alves Redol (1911-1969), in which social realism is verified, focusing on the socially marginalized subject. Some Portuguese neorealist literary works are:
Earth (1941), by Fernando Namora (1919-1989);
august sun (1941), by João José Cochofel (1919-1982);
Wolf Pack (1944), by Carlos de Oliveira (1921-1981);
hikers (1949), by José Cardoso Pires (1925-1998);
wind harvest (1958), by Manuel da Fonseca (1911-1993);
A bee in the rain (1959), by Carlos de Oliveira.
However, Portuguese neorealism had to live with Salazar's censorship, which mainly affected cinema, where neorealism did not bear fruit, and theater. Pieces such as Forge (1948), by Alves Redol; two compartments (1950), by Avelino Cunhal (1887-1966); It is condemned to life (1964), by Luiz Francisco Rebello (1924-2011).
A portuguese neorealist painting It has works like:
squeezed by hunger (1945), by Marcelino Vespeira (1925-2002);
cattleman (1945), by Júlio Pomar (1926-2018);
factory landscape (1951), by Maria Eugénia.
Neorealism and international relations
The term “neorealism” is also used in the context of international relations. In the book international relations theory, 1979, Kenneth Waltz (1924-2013), a political scientist, launches the concept of neorealism or structural realism. Thus, according to Lara Martim Rodrigues Selis, Master in International Relations:
[...], neorealism can be understood as a movement or a collective project defined by a set of theories with common foundations, such as state-centrism, utilitarianism, positivism and structuralism. The acceptance of these premises acts not only on the nature of the questions raised, but also on the very development of the theoretical discourse|2|.
It is clear, therefore, that neorealism or structural realism is a theoretical concept in the field of international relations, which has nothing to do with the neorealist artistic movement.
Grades
|1| LEHMKUHL, Luciene. O Coffee by Portinari at the Portuguese World Exhibition — catalytic agent of neorealism. Annals of the National Historical Museum, Rio de Janeiro, vol. 54, p. 1-20, 2021.
|2| SELIS, Lara Martin Rodrigues. limits of reason: a study on Kenneth Waltz's neorealist theory. 2011. 184 f. Dissertation (Master in International Relations) – Institute of International Relations, University of Brasília, Brasília, 2011.
image credit
[1] paulisson miura / Wikimedia Commons (reproduction)
By Warley Souza
Literature Teacher
