Realist Art
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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1930s Realist Art
Charcoal
2010s Realist Art
Oil
Late 19th Century Realist Art
Canvas, Wood, Cotton Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Art
Paper, Mixed Media
2010s Realist Art
Oil
1970s Realist Art
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Art
Lithograph, Offset
1970s Realist Art
Lithograph
2010s Realist Art
Photographic Film, Emulsion, Printer's Ink, Watercolor, Photographic Pap...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Oil
1850s Realist Art
Printer's Ink, Rice Paper, Woodcut
2010s Realist Art
Oil
Artist Comments
The artwork captures the serenity of the ocean. Painted with oil paint and cold wax, the waves carry a slightly raised texture, adding to the realistic quality ...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Oil
2010s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Oil, Board
Late 19th Century Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Realist Art
Lithograph
Late 19th Century Realist Art
Wood, Paper, Watercolor, Cardboard
Mid-20th Century Realist Art
Oil, Wood Panel
2010s Realist Art
Watercolor, Paper
1950s Realist Art
Lambda
Late 19th Century Realist Art
Wood, Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil, Cardboard
2010s Realist Art
Oil
19th Century Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
1980s Realist Art
Etching
2010s Realist Art
Oil
2010s Realist Art
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Realist Art
Metal, Foil
1980s Realist Art
Etching
Mid-19th Century Realist Art
Paper, Chalk, Crayon, Carbon Pencil
20th Century Realist Art
Etching, Aquatint
Late 20th Century Realist Art
Paper, Chalk, Crayon, Pastel
1950s Realist Art
Lambda
1980s Realist Art
Lambda
1980s Realist Art
Lambda
1980s Realist Art
Lambda
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Egg Tempera
Late 20th Century Realist Art
Silk, Watercolor, Handmade Paper, Gouache
2010s Realist Art
Pastel
1980s Realist Art
Lambda
1950s Realist Art
Lambda
1980s Realist Art
Lambda
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Oil, Board
1950s Realist Art
Lambda
1950s Realist Art
Lambda
2010s Realist Art
Ink, Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Egg Tempera
1980s Realist Art
Lambda
1980s Realist Art
Lambda
2010s Realist Art
Canvas, Ink, Acrylic
Late 20th Century Realist Art
Charcoal
1980s Realist Art
Lambda
Late 20th Century Realist Art
Charcoal
2010s Realist Art
Oil, Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Canvas, Acrylic
Early 1900s Realist Art
Canvas, Wood, Cotton Canvas, Oil