Realist Paintings
Realist art attempts to portray its subject matter without artifice. Similar to naturalism, authentic realist paintings and prints see an integration of true-to-life colors, meticulous detail and linear perspectives for accurate portrayals of the world.
Work that involves illusionistic techniques of realism dates back to the classical world, such as the deceptive trompe l’oeil used since ancient Greece. Art like this became especially popular in the 17th century when Dutch artists like Evert Collier painted objects that appeared real enough to touch. Realism as an artistic movement, however, usually refers to 19th-century French realist artists such as Honoré Daumier exploring social and political issues in biting lithographic prints, while the likes of Gustave Courbet and Jean-François Millet painting people — particularly the working class — with all their imperfections, navigating everyday urban life. This was a response to the dominant academic art tradition that favored grand paintings of myth and history.
By the turn of the 20th century, European artists, such as the Pre-Raphaelites, were experimenting with nearly photographic realism in their work, as seen in the attention to every botanical attribute of the flowers surrounding the drowned Ophelia painted by English artist John Everett Millais.
Although abstraction was the guiding style of 20th-century art, the realism trend in American modern art endured in Edward Hopper, Andrew Wyeth and other artists’ depictions of the complexities of the human experience. In the late 1960s, Photorealism emerged with artists like Chuck Close and Richard Estes giving their paintings the precision of a frame of film.
Contemporary artists such as Jordan Casteel, LaToya Ruby Frazier and Aliza Nisenbaum are now using the unvarnished realist approach for honest representations of people and their worlds. Alongside traditional mediums, technology such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence and immersive installations are helping artists create new sensations of realism in art.
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2010s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Linen, Oil, Panel
2010s Realist Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
Late 20th Century Realist Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
A woman sits on a bench, sipping her drink, outside of St. Mark’s Coffee & Tea in the East Village. The cafe’s red facade contrasts with the subdued urban e...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil
1930s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Oil, Panel
1860s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1860s Realist Paintings
Paper, Oil, Wood Panel
Early 1900s Realist Paintings
Gesso, Oil, Wood Panel, Stretcher Bars
2010s Realist Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1910s Realist Paintings
Panel, Oil
Early 1900s Realist Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
20th Century Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Late 19th Century Realist Paintings
Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Oil, Linen
Mid-20th Century Realist Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
1870s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Realist Paintings
Oil, Board
2010s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Late 19th Century Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
1990s Realist Paintings
Gesso, Canvas, Cotton, Paint, Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
Artist Comments
Golden autumn leaves blanket the paths of Central Park, setting the stage for a romantic stroll. A couple walks closely, sharing a blue umbrella while leaving a...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Linen, Oil, Panel
1970s Realist Paintings
Oil
Mid-20th Century Realist Paintings
Oil
19th Century Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 1900s Realist Paintings
Pastel
2010s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Realist Paintings
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Oil, Canvas
20th Century Realist Paintings
Oil, Board
2010s Realist Paintings
Oil, Board
1870s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Oil
19th Century Realist Paintings
Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Oil, Board
2010s Realist Paintings
Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil, Panel
1920s Realist Paintings
Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Oil, Acrylic, Wood Panel
20th Century Realist Paintings
Oil, Board
2010s Realist Paintings
Linen, Oil, Panel
2010s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil, Panel
Mid-20th Century Realist Paintings
Oil, Cardboard
1980s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil