The Frozen - Yet Human Planet

Aesthetic Realism...ever hear of it?  Basically it is a philosophy founded by Eli Siegel.  First, it refers to the deepest desire of every person to like the world on an honest or accurate basis.  Second, the greatest danger for a person is to have contempt for the world and what is in it, and third....the belief that all beauty is a making one of opposites, and the making one of opposites in what we are going after in ourselves. 

One painting that can be used to explore aesthetic realism is The Hunters in the Snow by Peter Bruegel...painted in the Sixteenth Century....a fine example of the Northern Renaissance movement.  

Take a look at it.....

This painting was part of a series of six...five survive today including this painting.  During the Sixteenth Century the Netherlands was undergoing a religious revolution and many state this painting is a statement regarding what country life use to be or what they wished it could be.

Though the landscape looks harsh notice for every sharp mountain peak and for every dark and bleak tree there is also a human moving around...ice skating, etc.    Even though things are cold and bare you can also see examples of fun and games.  There is human warmth and a sense of community.    

This website gives a good discussion regarding Bruegel and his painting in relation to aesthetic realism.