Realist Figurative 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.
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Mid-19th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Panel
Early 20th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Cotton Canvas, Wood
Late 18th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Wood, Cotton Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Gold Leaf
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Acrylic, Cotton Canvas
19th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Panel
19th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Oil
19th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Oil
19th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Board
19th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Board, Oil
19th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Copper
19th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Late 18th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Canvas
Mid-19th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Oil
Mid-19th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Oil
Mid-19th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Oil
18th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Board, Oil
Late 20th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Panel, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Ballpoint Pen, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Paper, Acrylic, Ballpoint Pen
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Paper, Ballpoint Pen, Acrylic
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Panel
1880s Realist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Panel
1960s Realist Figurative Paintings
Carbon Pencil
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Panel
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 20th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Bronze
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Metal
Mid-20th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Board
Late 20th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Paper, Pastel
1950s Realist Figurative Paintings
Cardboard, Tempera
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Fabric, Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Charcoal, Mixed Media, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Wax, Cotton, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Charcoal, Mixed Media, Acrylic
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Oil
1910s Realist Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Oil
Late 19th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Wood, Cotton Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Mixed Media
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1980s Realist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1970s Realist Figurative Paintings
Watercolor, Rag Paper