Throughout known history artists have sought to capture the world around them in an attempt to document contemporary events and their surroundings or to present their own vision or that of their clients or an interpretation of contemporary art a concept that illustrates, describes or helps visualize an idea. The resulting art description often classifies the work as belonging to a specific style, thus illustrating a set of common traits among artifacts belonging to the same period. Two of these classifications are the Realist and Impressionist movements. Realism, in the 1850s, arose as a reaction to Romanticism which, through its works, aroused a strong emotional response in the observer allowing the artist's creativity and imagination to become more important than respect for traditional rules and conventions of the previous period. (Romanticism, 2014) In an attempt to escape the emotionalism of the Romantics, realists depicted their subjects truthfully, without artificial embellishment, and focused on everyday life. (Realism, 2014) It is important, however, to remember that the Realists did not necessarily seek to replicate the depicted subject with photographic precision as the Naturalists did. General realists sought to create accurate and objective illustrations of people's routine and, in their own way, criticized the established order, both social and political. (Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Realism, and Photography, 2014). The ordinary and banal became popular with the emergence of photography as the new source of visual artifacts stimulated artists' desire to create representations that felt “real.” (Realism, 2014)Impressionism...at the center of the sheet...the-severe-style-in-the-Russian-tradition/Impressionism. (2014). On Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ImpressionismMonet, C., (1891). Haystacks(Sunset)[image]. Retrieved from http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/grainstack-sunset-32189 Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Realism, and Photography. (2014). In Letters, arts and humanities, chap. 3.18. Retrieved from http://wgu.mindedgeonline.com/content.php?cid=19780Realism. (2014). On Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realism_(arts)Rewald, S.(10/2004) Fauvism. Retrieved from http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/fauv/hd_fauv.htmRomanticism. (2014). In the Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/508675/RomanticismVoorhies, J. (10/2004) Post-Impressionism. Retrieved from http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/poim/hd_poim.htm