What allowed Realist painter Thomas Eakins, in paintings such as "William Rush Carving His Allegorical Figure," to escape the bondage of stylization typified by academy painters such as Gérôme?

A. He painted mythological scenes from his imagination.
B. He idealized his subjects in the Classical tradition.
C. He rejected academic painting in favor of allegory.
D. He painted people the way they actually looked.
E. He studied the latest techniques at the French academy.