The realistic style is characteristic of many European landscape works created in the latter decades of the 19th century. In the artwork of the later realism masters, the life of the French province was discovered anew with its patriarchy. In their painting approaches, however, the artists used updated language based on the newest discoveries in art. 

Jules Bastien-Lepage, in one of his best works, the painting Village Lovers, was able to combine a realistic subject with a lyrical landscape, flawlessly capturing moments of idyllic harmony between humankind and nature. The color design of the painting speaks to the artist’s familiarity with the newest modern trends in French art, particularly with impressionist landscapes.