The nineteenth century was an active time of economic, social and political revolution. Epochal scientific advances began to be invented, such as iron and steel, the telegraph, the telephone, and the steam engine. Because of these advances, Europe as a whole began the transition from a predominantly agricultural society to an industry-based society. The rise of factories required untold numbers of workers and, overall, eventually led to workers' rights becoming citizens' rights. Industrialization and urbanization also emphasize class distinction. Conflicts between these different classes of society were often implicit in works of art. This direct observation of society and nature became the basis of the Realism artistic movement. Instead of illuminating the imagination, through his iconography, Courbet reveals socialist ideas and a concern for the plight of the poor. Stone Breakers depicts two workers in tattered clothes, a man shattering stones with a hammer, and a boy lifting a basket full of stones. With its dimensions of 5 feet 3 inches x 8 feet 6 inches, it portrayed ordinary people on a monumental scale, which seemed crude to critics at the time. Courbet in no way intended it to be heroic, but he intended it to be an accurate account of the abuses and deprivations that were common features of mid-century French rural life (Gersh-Nesic). In terms of formalism, his brushwork is rather rough as he gives equal attention to all foreground areas. A great contrast is created due to the lack of emphasis on the landscape and the significantly illuminated elements of the foreground. Stone Breakers was sadly destroyed during. It depicts a dark, dirty train carriage, crowded and full of anonymous working-class men and women. Dressed shabbily, the passengers are slightly slumped and seemingly submissive to their living situation and the severity of the economic reality of the period. This oil painting formally consists of dark, sketchy outlines and textured surfaces. The deep contrast between light and shadow creates sharp edges in opposition to the looser brushwork elsewhere. This in a certain sense helps to convey the difficulties of the subjects' daily lives. The fact that this scene is set in a train carriage also exemplifies the use of new industrial subjects of the nineteenth century.