Realist Mixed Media
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.
1980s Realist Mixed Media
Oil, Board
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Paper, Giclée
20th Century Realist Mixed Media
Handmade Paper, Giclée
2010s Realist Mixed Media
Textile, Mixed Media
2010s Realist Mixed Media
Paper, Crayon
20th Century Realist Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Mixed Media
Wood, Mixed Media, Permanent Marker, Screen
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Artist Guigen Zha paints a realistic still life of blooming pink peonies. He places the vibrant flowers in a vase, softly lit by the night sky. "The space cut...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Early 20th Century Realist Mixed Media
Ink, Watercolor
1990s Realist Mixed Media
Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Canvas, Charcoal, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Realist Mixed Media
Egg Tempera
Artist Comments
Artist Guigen Zha paints two red peonies looking at each other in a white vase. The lively flowers bloom one after another in a rea...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Paper, Giclée
Early 20th Century Realist Mixed Media
Steel
20th Century Realist Mixed Media
Handmade Paper, Giclée
2010s Realist Mixed Media
Canvas, Mosaic, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Canvas, Acrylic
20th Century Realist Mixed Media
Paper, Charcoal, Gouache
2010s Realist Mixed Media
Ceramic, Glaze, Pencil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Canvas, Acrylic, Charcoal, Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Canvas, Pastel, Ink, Acrylic, Mixed Media
2010s Realist Mixed Media
Canvas, Mosaic, Acrylic
Artist Comments
In uptown Manhattan, a solitary cat sits on a windowsill, gazing intently at a drone hovering outside. The cat doesn’t appear alarmed but curious, as though...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
2010s Realist Mixed Media
Canvas, Mosaic, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Watercolor, Color Pencil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Handmade Paper, Giclée
2010s Realist Mixed Media
Bronze, Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Charcoal, Acrylic
Mid-19th Century Realist Mixed Media
Photographic Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Charcoal, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Canvas, Ink, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Acrylic, Ballpoint Pen, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Charcoal, Acrylic
20th Century Realist Mixed Media
India Ink, Color
1940s Realist Mixed Media
India Ink, Color
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Paper, Giclée
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Canvas, Ink, Acrylic
20th Century Realist Mixed Media
India Ink, Color
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Canvas, Pastel, Ink, Acrylic
Artist Comments
This mixed-media painting captures a stormy seascape with energetic waves and a dramatic sky. The blend of oil paint, ink, and cold wax creates a textured sur...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Canvas, Charcoal, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Charcoal, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Handmade Paper, Giclée
1990s Realist Mixed Media
Mixed Media, Board
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Cotton, Giclée
Early 20th Century Realist Mixed Media
Oil, Etching
2010s Realist Mixed Media
Charcoal, Archival Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Conté, Pastel, Archival Paper, Graphite
2010s Realist Mixed Media
Charcoal, Pastel, Archival Paper, Crayon
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Conté, Pastel, Archival Paper
Mid-20th Century Realist Mixed Media
Paper, Color Pencil
1970s Realist Mixed Media
Gouache, Mixed Media, Felt Pen
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Mixed Media
Canvas, Oil