Realist Drawings and Watercolor 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.
Find authentic realist paintings, sculptures, prints and more art on 1stDibs.
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Charcoal, Oil Pastel, Graphite
Late 19th Century Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Lithograph, Monotype
2010s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Emulsion, Monotype, Paper
1970s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pencil
2010s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Archival Paper, Carbon Pencil
2010s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Emulsion, Watercolor, Engraving, Etching, Monotype
Early 20th Century Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pastel
2010s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor, Pencil
2010s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Lithograph, Monotype
1950s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Charcoal
Mid-20th Century Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
19th Century Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
Early 20th Century Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache
Early 20th Century Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache
Mid-20th Century Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Lithograph, Monotype
2010s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
20th Century Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Gouache
1950s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor, Lithograph
1990s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pastel, Watercolor
2010s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Charcoal, Graphite
2010s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
Late 19th Century Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Gouache
1930s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Charcoal, India Ink
Artist Comments
A tranquil winter scene unfolds in this watercolor, where a partially frozen river winds through a quiet, snow-covered forest. Tall trees frame the foreground, ...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1970s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Mixed Media
Late 20th Century Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Pen
Late 20th Century Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Pen
Early 20th Century Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Color Pencil, Paper
Mid-20th Century Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Canvas, Graphite
1980s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Oil, Board
1930s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pastel
2010s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
1970s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Charcoal
Early 20th Century Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Watercolor
1920s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Pencil
Mid-20th Century Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
1990s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
1970s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pastel
Mid-20th Century Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ballpoint Pen
2010s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Emulsion, Watercolor, Etching, Lithograph, Paper
2010s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Tempera, Permanent Marker
1990s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Color Pencil
Artist Comments
This still-life arrangement of Granny Smith apples resembles a family portrait. Thoughtfully composed to guide the eye, the grouping of fruit evokes the warmt...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1960s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pencil
2010s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Charcoal, Graphite
1990s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pencil
Mid-20th Century Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Ink, Gouache, Pen, Graphite
2010s Realist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Emulsion, Watercolor, Lithograph, Paper