Realist More 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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21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Photographic Paper
Artist Comments
Artist Kristine Kainer depicts a colorful display of lobster buoys—a common sight found in a quaint New England fishing village near one of her childhood ho...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Oil
2010s Realist More Art
Oil, Other Medium
2010s Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
A wintry country road stretches into the distance, evoking a sense of serenity and isolation. Bare trees and snow-covered fields frame the scene. Tire tracks ...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Watercolor
2010s Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
The painting features three roses in different stages of growth, from bud to full bloom. Their delicate colors and realistic detail capture their natural beau...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Oil
Early 1900s Realist More Art
Marble
1970s Realist More Art
Ink, Color Pencil, Watercolor, Mixed Media, Pastel
1860s Realist More Art
Bronze
2010s Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Mandy Main presents an expansive, glowing landscape with an accentuated perspective that pulls the eye deep into the distance. "The impressive momentum...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Oil
Artist Comments
Golden light from the setting sun glows softly on one side of the woods, while the foreground rests in cool shadow. Autumn colors peek through the trees. A wind...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Oil
2010s Realist More Art
Oil, Panel
1950s Realist More Art
Oil
2010s Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
The scene features a view from a window at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on a rainy day. Trees in Central Park glow in scattered sunlight, while distant buil...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Oil
Artist Comments
Two modern buildings, one raw sienna, and the other white, stand side by side against a deep blue sky. The daylight in the background contrasts with the struc...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Acrylic
20th Century Realist More Art
Color, Offset
Artist Comments
At an intersection in Santa Monica, silence holds sway beneath a rapturous composition of clouds at sunset.
About the Artist
Jesse’s scenes of Los ...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Oil
2010s Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
A pair of little woodpeckers perch on opposite sides of a branch, busy probing the small holes they've made for fresh tree sap. The intricate features of their plumage and the textured bark create a striking contrast against the stark white background. Rendered in vibrant colors and fine detail, artist Emil Morhardt brings this charming scene to life.
About the Artist
Emil Morhardt is an acrylic painter from Santa Barbara, California who expresses his passion for birds through realistic acrylic paintings. He paints at home in a studio room that has large windows and a north-facing view of the mountains. He observes the animals from this window, watching roadrunners, foxes, bobcats, deer, and coyote run by. Surrounded by this wildlife, Emil paints bird portraits reminiscent of those by artist John James Audubon. He bases his paintings off hundreds of photographs he takes of birds in the wild and at wildlife recovery centers. Emil captures the freedom and inquisitiveness that birds display...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Acrylic
Early 19th Century Realist More Art
Engraving, Aquatint
2010s Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
The setting is an arm of the Prospect Park Lake, known as the Lullwater for its stillness. In the foreground is the Prospect Park Audubon Center in the Boatho...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Oil
1970s Realist More Art
Oil, Cardboard
1960s Realist More Art
Pencil, Postcard, Pen
Artist Comments
A yellow ibis wades in shallow water, its spread wings creating a sense of movement and lightness. The simplified and almost abstract depictions of sky and wate...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Acrylic
Late 19th Century Realist More Art
Watercolor
2010s Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Realist More Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Panel, Oil
2010s Realist More Art
Oil, Other Medium
Artist Comments
Tangled brush in earthy tones borders a worn dirt road. A lone bare tree stands in the left foreground while a group of trees lines the distance. The overcast s...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Watercolor
1890s Realist More Art
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Oil, Board
Artist Comments
A serene woodland bathes in dappled sunlight. Tall trees cast shadows across a winding road and the grass, while streaks of light add a sense of peace to the sc...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Watercolor
Artist Comments
A stark, leafless tree stretches its branches toward a soft, clouded sky. Its weathered trunk stands as a testament to passing time. Beside it, a vibrant, full-...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Watercolor
Late 19th Century Realist More Art
Oil, Board
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Paper
Mid-20th Century Realist More Art
Watercolor
1990s Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Oil, Panel
Artist Comments
"This piece captures the essence of nature in its most serene and magical state," says artist Jose Luis Bermudez. The calmly...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Oil
1980s Realist More Art
Pastel, Ink, Mixed Media, Watercolor, Color Pencil
2010s Realist More Art
Oil, Canvas
Artist Comments
A tall, weathered tree stretches toward a colorful sky, its bare branches silhouetted against soft, dreamy hues. Dark green foliage below anchors the scene, whi...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Watercolor
1980s Realist More Art
Paper, Ink, Gouache
Artist Comments
Sunset reveals the vast grandeur of the Grand Canyon. The rugged cliffs glow with deep amber and violet hues beneath a sky brushed with luminous pastel clouds. ...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Realist More Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Oil, Board
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Dark silhouettes of bare trees create a quiet, moody landscape at dusk in the countryside. The glowing sunset illuminates the horizon. Deep tones fill a marsh b...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Watercolor
Artist Comments
A stretch of yellow mustard fields contrasts beautifully with the bright blue sky. Fluffy clouds drift overhead, adding depth and movement to the scene. The pai...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Oil
1970s Realist More Art
Paper, Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Artist Andres Lopez captures a mesmerizing scene of glistening water with a vibrant orange reflection. The painting captures the play of light on the ocean's su...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist More Art
Oil