A concern with the heroism of modern life (Courbet) is the essential idea behind two very important 19th century theories: that of Naturalism as developed in the literature of Zola, and Realism as portrayed in the paintings of Courbet where subjects taken from the lower classes are given the same importance as historical or mythological themes. By 1876, when this school of Bohemia artist had come to Paris to study with Léon Bonnat, the criteria of beauty alone has been superceded by that of contemporary reality. A frequent participant in the annual Salon from 1877 onwards, Brozik was elected to the Légion d'Honneur in 1890 and to the Académie des Beaux-Arts before returning to Prague to teach at the Académie des Beaux-Arts there until his death in 1901.