Both realism and impressionism began in France with both artistic periods lending the world unique techniques, aesthetic approaches, and subjects in painting. While impressionism derives from realism, it can be argued that impressionism ultimately led to continued individual expression in art through subsequent historical artistic periods. The artistic period of realism from 1845 to 1900 has roots dating back to the mid-1800s in France and developed as a reaction to the often exaggerated emotionalism of the preceding artistic period of Romanticism. Realist artists instead strove to represent the seriousness of everyday life. Showing subjects or scenes as they were without involvement of religion, mythology or history. McDowall (1918) pointed out: “At the basis of realism, in all its variations, there seems to be the sense of real existence; an acute awareness of it and a vision of things in that form. It is a completely natural feeling, it is in fact the primitive attitude of man" (p. 3). In painting, film and literature, artists aimed to present things as they appear. One of the major social conditions that contributed to the emergence of realism was the industrial revolution. With its mass production of products by machinery, the Industrial Revolution not only created an explosion of railroads and cities, but also an explosion of the wealthy middle class and the poor working class. The discovery of photography in 1839 by Daguerre and others also led to a growing tendency to copy everyday life, which in turn germinated the fascination with realism in art. Buser (2006) noted that during the Industrial Revolution the rules of life were the fundamental ideas of technology, science and practical business sense. Buser (2006) further theorized “As advances in these… half of the paper… Rowther (2005) reflects “A direct line can be drawn from Impressionism, through the Post-Impressionists and Neo-Impressionists. Impressionists, the Fauvists, the Cubists, the Symbolists and finally the Abstract Expressionists”. Artists over the centuries have continued to experiment with new techniques allowing modern art to evolve and take shape. References Bingham, J. (2009). Impressionism. Chicago, Illinois: Heinemann Library. Buser, T. (2006). Experiencing art around us. USA: Thompson Wadsworth.Crowther, J. (2005). Impressionism: more than meets the eye. Retrieved from http://www.artist-perspectives.com/articles/impressionism.htmJanaro, R.P., & Altshuler, T.C. (2009). The art of being human: the humanities as a life technique. Pearson Education, Inc. McDowall, A. S. (1918). Realism: A Study in Art and Thought. London: Constable and Company LTD.