Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
REALIST STYLE
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.
Find authentic realist paintings, sculptures, prints and more art on 1stDibs.
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Style: Realist
Jeune Montagnarde des Environs de Truskaniva by Franciszek Tepa - Realist
Located in London, GB
SOLD UNFRAMED
Jeune Montagnarde des Environs de Truskaniva by Franciszek Tepa (1829-1889)
Watercolour
26 x 20.5 cm (10 ¼ x 8 ⅛ inches)
Signed and dated lower left, Franciszek Tepa ...
Category
1870s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Paysan Centenaire, Soldat de l'Armée du Général Kosenisko by Franciszek Tepa
Located in London, GB
SOLD UNFRAMED
Paysan Centenaire, Soldat de l'Armée du Général Kosenisko by Franciszek Tepa (1829-1889)
Watercolour
26.3 x 30 cm (10 ⅜ x 11 ¾ inches)
Initialed and dated lower left, ...
Category
1870s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Montagnard des Environs de Szczaronica by Franciszek Tepa - Realist portrait
Located in London, GB
SOLD UNFRAMED
Montagnard des Environs de Szczaronica by Franciszek Tepa (1829-1889)
Watercolour
26.3 x 20 cm (10 ⅜ x 7 ⅞ inches)
Signed and dated lower right, F. Tepa 1873
Artist ...
Category
1870s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
"Find A Balance" - Original Oil of Reflective Woman by Elena Burykina
Located in Denver, CO
Elena Burykina's "Find A Balance" (2023) is a compelling 12 x 12-inch oil on panel painting that captures the introspective moment of a woman in thought. This piece, unframed but rea...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Panel, Oil
"Diver" - Original Painting by Elena Burykina, Marine Art, Penguins
Located in Denver, CO
Elena Burykina's "Diver" (2020) is an evocative oil on paper that captures the serene yet mysterious allure of underwater exploration juxtaposed with the natural world above. This 12...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Oil
"Noumena" - Original Oil of Woman with Sculpture by Brad Davis, Intriguing Art
By Brad Davis
Located in Denver, CO
Brad Davis's "Noumena" (2024) is a compelling oil on wood panel painting, framed to dimensions of 34 x 26 inches, capturing a unique interplay between a real woman and a sculptural b...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Panel, Oil
"Night at the Banks" - Original Oil of Window Reflections by Brad Davis
By Brad Davis
Located in Denver, CO
Brad Davis's "Night at the Banks" (2023) is a unique and captivating oil on wood panels painting, measuring 20.50 x 16 inches, that vividly captures the essence of urban life after d...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Panel, Oil
"Baby" - Original Acrylic Painting of Woman and Deer by Mary Carroll
By Mary Carroll
Located in Denver, CO
Mary Carroll's "Baby" (2024) is a deeply evocative acrylic painting, measuring 24 x 18 inches, ready to hang even without a frame. This poignant artwork captures a somber yet tender ...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Panel, Acrylic
"Presence" - Original Oil of Contemplative Woman by James Van Fossan
Located in Denver, CO
James Van Fossan's "Presence" (2023) is an exquisite oil on linen painting that captures the tranquil beauty of a woman in a moment of quiet reflection. This 16 x 16-inch artwork, th...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Oil, Linen
"Patience" - Original Oil of Thoughtful Woman by James Van Fossan
Located in Denver, CO
James Van Fossan’s “Patience” (2024) is a striking oil on linen portrait, measuring 19 x 14 inches. This unframed artwork, which is ready to hang, captures the serene, contemplative ...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Oil, Linen
Self Portrait at 72" - Imagined Future, Original Painting by David Kassan
By David Kassan
Located in Denver, CO
David Kassan’s "Self Portrait at 72" (2021) is an introspective exploration into the future, where the artist imagines himself as an elder. Painted in oil on acrylic mirror and measu...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Oil, Mirror
Portrait of James Dean
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Joseph Kardonne (1911-1985). James Dean, 1950. Charcoal on textured paper, sheet measures an irregular 11.25 x 18 inches. It has been folded in half a bears a crease along central li...
Category
Mid-20th Century Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Charcoal
"Visions In Pale Splendor" - Oil Painting, Cultural Fusion with Female Model
Located in Denver, CO
Alexandra Manukyan presents "Visions In Pale Splendor," an exquisite oil on linen on wooden panel from 2023, framed to 28 x 22 inches. This piece captures a fusion of traditional Jap...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Oil, Panel
Old Testament Scene with Angel 1813 Large Grisaille Drawing on Paper Signed
Located in Stockholm, SE
One of the characters in this scene is a mature man, kneeling with his head bowed and hands clasped near his chest in a gesture of supplication. His posture conveys a sense of humili...
Category
Early 19th Century Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Mahogany, Paper, Watercolor, Pencil
Portrait Of A Young Girl In A Lilac Dress With A Black Bow. Circa 1860. SIgned.
Located in Firenze, IT
Portrait of a young girl in a lilac dress with a black bow.
Circa 1860.
Signature below right, partially visible.
Size with frame 59cm x 49cm
Size without frame 33cm x 24cm
The portr...
Category
Mid-19th Century Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Chalk, Crayon, Carbon Pencil
Contemporary Surrealism Acrylic Portrait, Christopher Polentz, "Princess II"
Located in San Diego, CA
A 17"x 64" x 3" Magical Realism Acrylic Portrait Painting executed on Wood Panel with Custom Framing by artist Christopher Polentz. A certificate of authenticity will accompany the p...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Acrylic, Wood Panel
Portrait of a Cornish Fisherman. Historical Social Record of Fishing Industry.
Located in Sutton Poyntz, Dorset
Frederick James McNamara Evans.
English ( b.1859 - d.1929 ).
Portrait of a Cornish Fisherman
Watercolor. Signed.
Image size 10.2 inches x 8.1 inches ( 26cm x 20.5cm ).
Frame size 16...
Category
Early 20th Century Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
Portrait. 1966. watercolor on paper, 35.5x30 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Portrait. 1966. watercolor on paper, 35.5x30 cm
Dzidra Ezergaile (1926-2013)
Born in Riga. School years alternate with summer work in the countryside...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Paper
Portrait. Watercolor on paper, 42x37 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Portrait. Watercolor on paper, 42x37 cm
Dzidra Ezergaile (1926-2013)
Born in Riga. School years alternate with summer work in the countryside. In 194...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Paper
'Portrait of a Woman', Myanmar Neck Ring, Mill Valley, Mystic Seaport Museum
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed lower right, 'J. Norall' for John Norall (American, 1920-2024) and painted circa 1993.
Exhibited: Mill Valley Library Gallery, 1993
Born in North Platte, John Norall studied ...
Category
1990s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
Infanta Flower Head with Mountain Body
Located in Burlingame, CA
Chikako Okada’s autobiographical works of art bridge traditional realism with magical realism and surrealism. The artist uniquely addresses questions of the human condition through h...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil, Paper, Graphite
Lady in a Feathered Hat, Portrait, Figure, Charcoal Drawing, Austrian
Located in Wiscasset, ME
Irene Hölzer-Weineck was born in Prague in 1888 and later worked as a painter primarily in Vienna. After artistic training with the Czech painter Vojtech Hynais, Hölzer-Weineck studi...
Category
Early 20th Century Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Charcoal
Portrait of a Young Woman - 1930's Art Deco portrait drawing British artist
Located in London, GB
A fine large charcoal and pencil drawing by British listed artist James Stroudley. Executed in 1931, it is a stunning example of a 1930s Art Deco portrait. Very strong and bold, it d...
Category
1930s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Carbon Pencil
Woman with a Blue Kerchief: watercolor by Irish artist Magrath
Located in Philadelphia, PA
William Magrath
(Irish, 1838-1918)
Woman with a Blue Kerchief
Watercolor on paper, mounted; 18 1/2 x 14 1/2 inches
Signed and dated at upper right: "W Magrath/1876"
Stamped on stret...
Category
1870s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Watercolor
Mary Adshead - 20th Century British watercolour portrait of Stephen Bone
By Mary Adshead
Located in London, GB
MARY ADSHEAD
(1904-1995)
Portrait of Stephen Bone, the artist’s husband
Pencil and watercolour, squared for transfer
Framed
45 by 32 cm., 17 ¾ by 12 ½ ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
KIOWA WOMAN
Located in Tallahassee, FL
Portrait of Kiowa American Indian Tribal Elder.
Part of Artist's Personal Collection.
Category
20th Century Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Sir Dominic Sewell at the St. George's Jousting Tournament in Moscow in 2019
Located in Zofingen, AG
In the summer of 2019, Evgeniy Monahov was lucky to make a series of live sketches during the of St. George's Jousting Tournament in Moscow - for several days everyone had the opport...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Permanent Marker, Tempera
Aquarius
Located in Burlingame, CA
'Aquarius' features the face of a young woman with flowering succulents, thorns and a turbulent sky surrounding her body and is a complex graphite drawing on Kent paper. From Japanes...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil, Paper, Graphite
Scream of an Angel
Located in Zofingen, AG
A sketch for a future big painting that Angelina and Evgeniy will make someday - then they will decide what will be more in her beautiful dark eyes - surprise, fright, pleasure.. or ...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Tempera, Permanent Marker
Infante & Infanta Mellizos
Located in Burlingame, CA
Chikako Okada’s autobiographical works of art bridge traditional realism with magical realism and surrealism. The artist uniquely addresses questions of the human condition through h...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil, Paper, Graphite
Two girls reading a book
Located in Zofingen, AG
Just another evening in the artist's studio, when the guests arrived and sat down to look at all kinds of art books. Two girls were so carried away by the book that they no longer no...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Tempera, Permanent Marker
Freedom
Located in Burlingame, CA
Chikako Okada’s autobiographical works of art bridge traditional realism with magical realism and surrealism. The artist uniquely addresses questions of the human condition through h...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil, Paper, Graphite
No, I'll not give you my password!
Located in Zofingen, AG
Usually viewers try to look over the shoulder to see what the artist is painting, but here Evgeniy Monahov, in a quick sketch portrait, seems to be looking over the shoulder of his m...
Category
2010s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Permanent Marker, Tempera
Love & Peace & Sisterhood
Located in Burlingame, CA
Chikako Okada’s autobiographical works of art bridge traditional realism with magical realism and surrealism. The artist uniquely addresses questions of the human condition through h...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil, Paper, Graphite
Infanta de la Resistencia
Located in Burlingame, CA
Chikako Okada’s autobiographical works of art bridge traditional realism with magical realism and surrealism. The artist uniquely addresses questions of the human condition through her meticulously detailed, and patterned imagery. The work is mesmerizing, rich in symbolism, and reference feminine power, vulnerability, sadness, longing, and desire. Often featuring adolescent girls and boys that are mysteriously posed, the artist leaves the circumstances of her subjects to the viewer's interpretation. Chikako Okada is inspired by the paintings of European masters, Mexico's Frida Kahlo, and the American surrealists.
The drawing is 16 x 12 inches. Professionally matted and framed in a museum quality rose gold...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Pencil, Graphite
Growing Pains
Located in Burlingame, CA
Chikako Okada’s autobiographical works of art bridge traditional realism with magical realism and surrealism. The artist uniquely addresses questions of the human condition through her meticulously detailed, and patterned imagery. The work is mesmerizing, rich in symbolism, and reference feminine power, vulnerability, sadness, longing, and desire. Often featuring adolescent girls and boys that are mysteriously posed, the artist leaves the circumstances of her subjects to the viewer's interpretation. Chikako Okada is inspired by the paintings of European masters, Mexico's Frida Kahlo, and the American surrealists.
The drawing is 23 1/4 X 18 1/4 inches. Professionally matted and framed in a museum quality rose gold wood...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil, Paper, Graphite
Infanta de la Verdad
Located in Burlingame, CA
'Infanta de la Verdad' features the face of a young woman with cactus surrounding her head and a bird and flowering cactus (bottom) representing life, death and the struggles in betw...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil, Paper, Graphite
Infanta Primavera, 2019
Located in Burlingame, CA
'Infanta Primavera' features the face of a young woman's head with a flowering cactus in an intricately patterned and a succulent coated body. It is complex graphite drawing on Kent ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil, Paper, Graphite
Portrait of Decima Moore - Actress & Suffragette Edwardian drawing female artist
By Maria Cowell nee Sayer
Located in London, GB
A fine, circa 1907, Edwardian pencil / charcoal drawing. Executed by Maria Cowell nee Sayer, it depicts a portrait of Decima Moore - an actress and Suffragette. A very striking and f...
Category
Early 1900s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Charcoal, Carbon Pencil
Portrait of a Lady - British Art Deco 30's drawing young woman good provenance
Located in London, GB
A fine and detailed Art Deco pencil, black, red and white chalk portrait of a young woman by Hubert Williams. The work dates to circa 1930 and is very skilful in its execution. A bea...
Category
1930s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Chalk, Color Pencil
Portrait of a Seated Lady - French 1880 Victorian art female portrait drawing
Located in London, GB
This lovely pencil and charcoal drawing is attributed to circle of French noted artist Jacques Joseph Tissot. Created around 1880 the drawing is of a woman relaxing on a reclining chair...
Category
19th Century Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Charcoal, Pencil
Pencil Portrait of a Young Man by 20th Century British Artist John Sergeant
Located in London, GB
JOHN SERGEANT
(1937-2010)
Head of a Young Man
Pencil
32 by 25 cm., 12 ½ by 10 in.
(frame size 51 by 43 cm., 20 by 17 in.)
Sergeant was born in London, the son of a civil servant....
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil
Portrait of a Lady - Scottish art early 20thC drawing society woman hat cameo
Located in London, GB
This is a fine circa 1910 pencil drawing of a Scottish society lady. Executed by one of the leading artists of the day in the circle of John Lavery it is a very striking and fascina...
Category
19th Century Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Charcoal, Pencil
Nude Female - Italian British art Edwardian nude portrait drawing female artist
Located in London, GB
This is a fine detailed and superbly executed Edwardian drawing by Estella Canziani which dated to circa 1911. Drawn by one of the leading artists of the day, it is a very striking a...
Category
1910s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Carbon Pencil
Portrait of a Lady - British art Post Impressionist 40s drawing female portrait
By Edward Bainbridge Copnall
Located in London, GB
A dramatic head and shoulders portrait of a lady in coloured chalks attributed to noted British artist Edward Bainbridge Copnall. This is just a stunning artwork which dates to circa...
Category
Early 20th Century Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Chalk
'Young Lady Seated', Royal Academy London, PAFA, Queen Victoria, King Edward VII
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed upper left, 'C. J. Turrell' for Charles James Turrell (British-American, 1845-1932) and dated 1876.
Framed dimensions: 12 x 1 x 10 inches
Charles James Turrell was one of the most talented miniaturists of his age. Born in London, he studied under a Mr. Sargeant, perhaps Frederick Sargeant who exhibited at the Royal Academy, before visiting the United States in 1867 where he painted miniatures at the studio of photographer Napoleon Sarony. During this time, Turrell had distinguished sitters including members of the Vanderbilt, Whitney, and Morgan families. While in America, Turrell married and would go on to maintain successful careers in both New York and London where, in 1869, he opened a studio on Bond Street.
Turrell exhibited widely and with success including annually at the Royal Academy (1873-1904), the Society of Miniaturists (1873 – 1932), the Brooklyn Art Association (1868), the Pennsylvania Academy of Art (1901) and at the Paris Salons. His sitters included Queen Victoria, King Edward VII, and Queen Alexandra, when she was Princess of Wales (1884). In 1890, he was appointed official miniature painter to Queen Victoria. Turrell's work is held in the Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace as well as in the permanent collections of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, London's Victoria & Albert Museum and the Mount Vernon Collection in Washington D.C., among others.
Reference:
E. Benezit, Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs, et Graveurs, Jacques Busse, 1999 Nouvelle Édition, Gründ 1911, Vol. 13, page 863; Who Was Who in American Art 1564-1975: 400 Years of Artists in America, Peter Hastings Falk, Sound View Press 1999, Vol. 3, page 3354; Mallett’s Index of Artists, Daniel Trowbridge Mallett, Peter Smith: New York 1948 Edition, R.R. Bowker Company 1935, page 444; The Dictionary of British Artists 1880-1940, J. Johnson and A. Greutzner, 1980 Edition, Antique Collectors’ Club 1976, page 511; Dictionary of British Miniature...
Category
1870s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Gouache, Laid Paper
Emily & The Baby II (Grace Borgenicht Gallery)
By Wolf Kahn
Located in New York, NY
Wolf Kahn
Emily & The Baby II (Grace Borgenicht Gallery), 1960
Pastel on Paper.
Hand signed by the artist on the front. Grace Borgenicht gallery label on the back
Vintage frame inclu...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pastel
The Plain Gangster - Early 20th Century British Illustration by Rex Whistler
Located in London, GB
REX JOHN WHISTLER
(British 1905-1944)
The Plain Gangster
Inscribed with title
Pen, brush and ink
Framed
20 by 16.5 cm., 8 by 10 ½ in.
(frame size 39 b...
Category
Early 20th Century Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Ink
Man sitting in the studio - Thinking about art -
Located in Berlin, DE
Adolph Eduard Otto von Faber du Faur (1828 Ludwigsburg - 1901 Munich). Man sitting in the studio. Watercolour painting, 43 x 27 cm (visible size), 73 x 53 cm (frame), monogrammed at lower right, estate stamp.
Upper right corner neatly repaired, small tear in the wall to the left of the sitter.
- Thinking about art -
About the artwork
The sitter, an elderly man, is seated in a studio on a pedestal reminiscent of an academy hall. The earthy, dark tones give the scene a weighty quality. The lightest tones are found in the incarnate parts of the figure, which do not stand out from the other colours of the picture, but are linked to them. As a result, the sitter's face is both part of and the highlight of the colour references in the picture. The colour of the sitter's skin is reflected in his pink coat, while his white-grey hair matches the colour of the wall next to him. This almost monochrome wall surface, in turn, is connected across the portrait to the framed picture standing on the floor, which seems to have been erased by this correspondence with the empty wall surface. Through the palette, which is positioned directly behind the sitter's head, the reference to painting, which is already given by the studio space, is explicitly linked to the sitter, who thus seems to be contemplating the question of the meaning of art.
This raises the question of whether Faber Du Faur, who had become lonely in his old age, might have painted a self-portrait here in his later years. In addition to the studio setting, the sitter's explicit reference to the palette and the fact that the picture was part of his estate, the only summary elaboration of the body suggests a self-portrait, while the representation of the face is concretised with the wide-open eyes typical of a self-portrait. This concentration on the face gives the impression of the artist's melancholy introspection, captured by the palette and related to the meaning of painting, whose dark character is reinforced by the concealment of the palette hanging on the right of the picture in the light tones so characteristic of Faber Du Faur. In the course of this resignation, Faber du Faur advises his son Hans, who has also become a painter: "Promise me one thing: never move to Munich, they'll kill you here!"
Whoever the sitter may be, the references to painting make the portrait a resigned self-contemplation by Faber Du Faur, focused on art.
About the artist
After leaving school, Otto Faber du Faur entered the service of the Württemberg army, at the same time cultivating his artistic talent. In 1851, on the recommendation of his father Christian Wilhelm, who was himself a battle painter, he spent six months in Munich as an apprentice to Alexander von Kotzebue. In 1852 he was granted a year's leave of absence from military service to study battle painting in the studio of Adolphe Yvon...
Category
1890s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor
Sketch of a head - Carved in stone -
Located in Berlin, DE
Emil Faesch (1865 Basel - 1915 Basel). Sketch of a head. Charcoal on painting cardboard, 60 x 47.5 cm (folio size), signed and dated at lower right "E. Faesch. 1888.".
Minor browning.
- Carved in stone -
About the artwork
The life-size head has an immensely present presence. This effect is due to the fact that Faesch took his cue from academic classical...
Category
1880s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Chalk
'Portrait of a Tribesman.' Pencil and Conte crayon on paper circa 1960's.
Located in Frome, Somerset
A fine profile portrait drawing of an elder tribesman. ( specific region unknown to us). Pencil and conte crayon on paper circa 1960's. Masterful use of the mediums . Unsigned. The q...
Category
1960s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil
Sketchbook Page with Figures and Anatomical Details in Pencil on Paper - Germany
Located in Soquel, CA
Sketchbook Page with Figures and Anatomical Details in Pencil on Paper
Drawings of a man at a desk and other figurative sections by an unknown artist (19th Century). On the left sid...
Category
1880s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Pencil
Half-length portrait of a Pharisee - In the shadow of betrayal -
Located in Berlin, DE
Hermann Prell (1854 Leipzig - 1922 Dresden-Loschwitz). Half-length portrait of a Pharisee, 1885. Sketch for the right-hand figure in the painting Judas Iscariot, 1886. Pencil drawing heightened with opaque white and black chalk on beige-grey wove paper (papier vélin), 34 x 27.8 cm (visible size), 52 x 45 cm (mount), signed, dated and inscribed "H. PRELL 1885 zu 'Judas'".
Minor browning, collection stamp on the reverse.
- In the shadow of betrayal -
About the artwork
This painting is the sketch for the head of the Pharisee offering the coins to Judas in one of Herrmann Prell's major works, the painting Betrayal of Judas, completed in 1886. The painting belongs to the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden and is illustrated in Adolf Rosenberg: Prell, Bielefeld and Leipzig 1901, p. 21 (Fig. 19). It is especially highlighted in Thieme-Becker (vol. 27, p. 376).
Hermann Prell, Betrayal of Judas, 1886
The monumental head, which fills the picture and is distinguished by its ornamented robe, is almost a lost profile, which in the executed painting is justified by the Pharisee's turning towards Judas. Despite the fact that the sitter withdraws from the viewer by turning away, it was necessary to artistically elaborate the motivation for the purchase of one of Christ's disciples, which is why the drawing focuses on the expression of the face, while the 'accessories' are treated in a more summary manner.
In characterising the face, Hermann Prell performs a balancing act: since the Pharisee, despite his destructive actions, is an actor in the history of salvation, the head must show a dignity appropriate to the event, but at the same time the physiognomy must also bear witness to the scheming attitude that led to the betrayal. To solve this dilemma, Prell draws on the traditional depictions of the heads of the apostles, shading the face to indicate the obdurate darkness of the spirit and moving the base of the nose slightly upwards while the mouth falls away, thus giving a physiognomic expression to the motivation of the action. The fatal drama of the betrayal is expressed in the monumentalisation of the head and in the thunderous white highlights that contrast with the darkness of the chalk.
As a study, considered by the artist to be a work in itself, this drawing reveals the pictorial problems and brainstorming of monumental painting.
About the artist
In 1872 Prell, who was one of the most important exponents of monumental painting of his time, began studying painting with Theodor Grosse at the Dresden Academy of Art and continued with Carl Gussow at the Berlin Academy in 1876. Hans von Marées taught him in Rome in 1878. More influential on his work, however, were Arnold Böcklin and Max Klinger, with whom Prell had been friends since his student days and with whom he worked together on several occasions.
Prell's first major work, which established his reputation as a monumental painter, were the frescoes in the banqueting hall of the Architektenhaus in Berlin in 1881/82, commissioned by the state and depicting the different periods of architecture. Prell then went to Italy for two years to study fresco painting. Other major commissions followed. These included monumental frescoes in the town halls of Worms (1884), Hildesheim (1882-92), Gdansk (1895) and Dresden, the staircase of the Silesian Museum of Fine Arts in Breslau (1893/94), the throne room of the German Embassy in Rome (1896-99) and the staircase of the Albertinum in Dresden (1900-1904).
From 1886 Prell taught at the academy of arts in Berlin and in 1892 he was appointed professor at the academy of arts in Dresden. His students included Osmar Schindler and Hans Unger...
Category
1880s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Chalk
Portrait of Archibald Hartrick - 1884 chalk drawing by Frank Lewis Emanuel
Located in London, GB
FRANK LEWIS EMANUEL
(1865-1948)
Portrait of Archibald Hartrick
Signed, inscribed and dated l.l.: A S HARTRICK (artist) by F L EMANUEL 1884
Black chalk heightened with white chalk on blue paper...
Category
1880s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Chalk
Set of Three Gouache & Watercolour Paintings of Tribal Objects on Handmade Paper
Located in Cotignac, FR
A set of three framed watercolour and gouache studies on handmade paper applied to Vélin d'Arches of tribal objects by French artist La Roche Laffi...
Category
Late 20th Century Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Watercolor, Gouache, Handmade Paper
Cabaret Dancers girls Austrian watercolor painting in fraimed 1930s
Located in Stockholm, SE
Signed: by Richard Geiger (1870 – 1945), Austrian - Hungarian painter. Also pencils inscriptions on reverse with date 33 (1933). By the 1920s, he worked illustrating books, bookplates and posters. His paintings included portraits, nudes, genre paintings, and mythological scenes, but he was known for his illustrations, especially his carnival motifs. Spectacular masterwork.
Size app.: 18 x 23.3 cm (roughly 7.1 x 9,2 in), framed 31.7 x 36.4 cm (roughly 12.5 x 14.3 in). Very Good condition, minimal age wear. In person actual painting may appear darker or brighter than in our pictures, strictly depending on sufficient light in your environment. Please study good resolution images for overall cosmetic condition. Glass will be removed prior to shipment for safe transit. Weight of app. 0,5 kg (without glass!) is going to measure some 2 kg volume weight packed for shipment.
R. Geiger was born in Vienna. He first attended a drawing school and then studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, where he studied under Christian Griepenkerl and August Eisenmenger. He studied sculpture with Fritz Klimsch at the Academy of Arts in Berlin. There he took part in the exhibitions of the Academy with his portrait busts and sculptures. In Paris he studied at the Julian Academy and worked in the studio of François Flameng...
Category
1930s Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Wood, Paper, Watercolor
Paquebot à Boulogne Sur Mer, late 19th Century French Marine Drawing
Located in Cotignac, FR
Late 19th century drawing on paper of a French marine scene by noted French artist Georges Ricard-Cordingley. Carrying the atelier stamp to the bottom left and with full annotation and certification to the back of the paper.
Provenance: This drawing came from the estate of the artist's daughter who had acquired it directly from her father. It is from his earliest period of drawing when his talents were first being recognised.
A charming drawing capturing the scene of a paquebot, a small passenger ship, leaving the dock at Boulogne sur Mer. Cordingley has captured the majesty of the scene, the rolling waves, the force of nature.
Georges Ricard was born on January 30, 1873 in Lyon, son of Prosper Louis Ricard and Georgina Marie Cordingley. He spent part of his childhood in Lyon and Boulogne-sur-Mer. He displayed early gifts for drawing. He lost his father in 1885.
He began his training around 1887, becoming a pupil of Jean-Charles Cazin, a landscape painter from Pas-de-Calais and the Côte d'Opale. He then joined the School of Fine Arts in Lyon and remained there from 1888 to 1889. He moved to Paris in 1890, where he studied at the Académie Julian as a pupil of Benjamin Constant, Louis Martinet and Jules Lefebvre.
He lost his mother around 1892, went to England to his maternal family and added his mother's name to his name. He embarked for the North Sea with the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen and carried out his first studies. In 1894, he met with great success at the court of Queen Victoria. He embarked a second time, in 1895, still for the North Sea and produced numerous studies of waves of clouds, of the port and of portraits of fishermen...
Category
Late 19th Century Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Paper, Pencil
Cecil Beaton - 20th Century Portrait Drawing of a girl with ringlets
By Cecil Beaton
Located in London, GB
SIR CECIL BEATON, CBE
(1904-1980)
Regency Girl with Ringlets
Pencil
Unframed, in mount only
21.5 by 18 cm., 8 ½ by 7 in.
(mount size 33.5 by 30 cm., 1...
Category
Mid-20th Century Realist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Materials
Pencil
Realist portrait drawings and watercolors for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Realist portrait drawings and watercolors available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add portrait drawings and watercolors created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, orange and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Chikako Okada, Gustave Poetzsch, Mark Beard, and Dina Brodsky. Frequently made by artists working with Paper, and Pencil and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Realist portrait drawings and watercolors, so small editions measuring 3 inches across are also available. Prices for portrait drawings and watercolors made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $105 and tops out at $224,500, while the average work sells for $1,960.
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