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Which intellectual developments encouraged the rise of Realism in 19th-century France?

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Painting by Gustave Courbet showing the artist at his easel in a crowded studio, surrounded by figures including a nude model, onlookers, and a child with a white dog. — Realism *The Painter's Studio*, showing Gustave Courbet at the easel, oil on canvas by Courbet, 1854–55; in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris.

The rise of Realism in 19th-century France was driven by a shift toward objectivity and a rejection of the artificiality found in Classicism and Romanticism. Several key intellectual developments in the first half of the 19th century stimulated this movement:1

Positivist Philosophy: The philosophy of Auguste Comte emphasized sociology as a scientific study of society, fostering a belief in science and reason as the primary paths to progress.12
Anti-Romanticism: Influenced by German movements, there was a growing emphasis on the "common man" as a worthy subject for art, moving away from the emotional excesses of the Romantic era.12
Professional Journalism: The rise of journalism encouraged the accurate, dispassionate recording of current events, which mirrored the Realist goal of depicting contemporary life truthfully.1
Development of Photography: The invention of photography provided a new capability to mechanically reproduce visual appearances with extreme accuracy, reinforcing the desire to record the material conditions and physical settings of society without idealization.1

These developments collectively fostered a cultural climate that valued the unadorned, truthful representation of the ordinary and the contemporary.1