Which Realist artist is linked to The Stone Breakers and The Gleaners?

• A. Gustave Courbet
• B. Jean-François Millet
• C. Edouard Manet
• D. Jacques-Louis David

Answer: (A)

Realism focuses on ordinary life and working people rather than romanticized scenes. The Stone Breakers, painted by Gustave Courbet, is a textbook example of this approach: it presents two laborers with unidealized bodies and work clothes, in a plain, somber composition that emphasizes social reality over drama or myth. The Gleaners, by Jean-François Millet, is also Realist in subject matter, showing peasant women gathering leftover grain, but it’s Millet’s work, not Courbet’s. Among the artists listed, Gustave Courbet is the name most directly tied to The Stone Breakers, making him the best match for linking to that title. The other painters are associated with different movements or contexts, not the specific combination of works mentioned.