Realist Figurative Paintings
REALIST STYLE
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.
Style: Realist
Color: Blue
"Heliconia" Oil Painting D 20" inch by Sasha Sokolova
Located in Culver City, CA
"Heliconia" Oil Painting D 20" inch by Sasha Sokolova
Bio
Born in Moscow into a family of artists, Sasha Sokolova is an award winning contemporary realist painter, working across a range of traditional oil and water colour techniques. Her current works explore a variety of themes spanning the human figure and nature and feature many of the travel destinations from which she draws much of her inspiration.
Following scholarships from the V. Spivakov fund and Young Talents Fund, Sasha graduated with honours from the Sergey Andriyaki School of Watercolour and Fine Arts in Moscow and went on to complete a Masters of Fine Arts at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography. Sasha was selected as the only Russian artist to work on the Oscar nominated "Loving Vincent", the first fully painted feature film.
Sasha exhibits regularly in Russia and throughout Europe. In 2021 Sasha’s painting “The Last Portrait” was awarded Honourable Mention in ModPortrait 2021 and will be exhibited with other finalists in Zaragoza and Barcelona...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Splash 6" Oil Painting 55" x 33" inch by Sasha Sokolova
Located in Culver City, CA
"Splash 6" Oil Painting 55" x 33" inch by Sasha Sokolova
SPLASH
This series is about those sunny summer days in my dacha (country house) in a small village outside of Moscow, captur...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Ewaoluwa (The Beauty of God)
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Her name is Ewaoluwa (The Beauty of God). Meaning the beauty of God in Yoruba origin located in western Nigeria. God created beauty in the loveliness of his nature.
The beauty of Go...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Charcoal, Acrylic
Sunrise Pines, Origingal Mixed Media Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"Sunrise Pines" by Tracy Wall (United States) is a handmade landscape painting that is framed and ready to hang.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Mixed Media
Sun Kiss Ocean - water study realism seascape original modern oil painting photo
Located in London, Chelsea
This realist fractal study by Leavon Bowman involves an influence of the vibrant Caribbean landscape and an appreciation for the dynamic flow of nature. ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Presque Isle (Day 95) June 24, 2022, Original Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"Presque Isle (Day 95) June 24, 2022" by Primary Hughes (United States) is a handmade landscape painting that is unframed, and will require a frame.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Chico Basin, San Luis Valley, Colorado, Original Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"Chico Basin, San Luis Valley, Colorado" by David Shingler (United States) is a handmade landscape painting that is unframed, but ready to hang.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Nymph Lake, Rocky Mountain Park, CO, Original Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"Nymph Lake, Rocky Mountain Park, CO" by David Shingler (United States) is a handmade landscape painting that is unframed, but ready to hang.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Station Blue, Original Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"Station Blue" by Mark Harrison (United Kingdom) is a handmade landscape oil painting that is framed and ready to hang.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Herd Rhythm, Original Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"Herd Rhythm" by Emma Kalff (United States) is a handmade landscape oil painting that is framed and ready to hang.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Painting with Pinecone, Original Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"Painting with Pinecone" by Lisa Lebofsky (United States) is a handmade landscape oil on paper painting that is framed and ready hang.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Mixed Media
Silver Ripples - seascape original summer original art vista panoramic landscape
Located in London, Chelsea
Contemporary artist Lenny Cornforth paints a vibrant seascape scene that joyfully conveys a summers day at the beach. Presenting an aerial perspective of a beach setting, this piece ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Silver
Ascension Sky- butterfly blue contemporary realism negative space acrylic paint
Located in London, Chelsea
This original painting by Mandii Pope takes a unique painterly approach to the butterfly motif. Pope here contrasts the traditional painterly portrayal of the butterfly against a mod...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Spray Paint, Acrylic
Deep Blue - water study realism seascape original modern oil painting photo real
Located in London, Chelsea
This realist fractal study by Leavon Bowman involves an influence of the vibrant Caribbean landscape and an appreciation for the dynamic flow of nature. ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Carina
Located in Paris, FR
Jean-Gabriel Domergue
1889-1962 French
"Carina"
Oil on panel
Signed lower right
Painting : 28 3/4" high x 23 5/8" wide
Frame: 37 3/8" high x 32 1/4" wide
Jean-Gabriel Domerg...
Category
Mid-20th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun 6 - Contemporary Figurative Oil Painting, Sea View
Located in Salzburg, AT
Artodyssey
"Julita Malinowska's paintings belong to those, which once seen - are never forgotten. The open spaces, sometimes cool and bright, at other times heavily saturated with co...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"New York City, Times Square" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Christopher Clark's "New York City, Times Square" is an original, hand made oil painting that depicts a night scene of a bustling cityscape.
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Acrylic, Wood Panel
Band of moonlight
Located in PUIFLIJK, NL
Over the last few years Francien has created a series of paintings, which stylistically dovetail into its overall work. This interesting new series came about by the birth of her lon...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
Tennis Lesson
Located in Park City, UT
Lisa Golightly's initial focus was photography, the influence of which can be seen in her paintings. Her work revolves around memory and how snapshots shape, influence, change and even create memory. She works with acrylic and high gloss enamel, using found photos...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
On the beach. 1976. Cardboard /mixed media. 50x59cm
Located in Riga, LV
On the beach. 1976. Cardboard /mixed media. 50x59cm
Marina landscape with beach, boats and people relaxing on the seashore.
Category
1970s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Cardboard, Oil
"Big Sky" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Andrzej Skorut's (US based) "Big Sky" is an oil painting that depicts clouds looming over the vast plains with distant mountains.
Bio/artist statement:...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
"Emerald Anchor, " Oil painting
By Judd Mercer
Located in Denver, CO
Judd Mercer's (US based) "Emerald Anchor," is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts the green shore of land that casts a reflection of its emeral...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Crucifixion
Located in Spetses, GR
Original artwork by Katerina Hatzi, signed at the bottom right corner. Certificate of authenticity provided by the gallery.
The recurring water motif is...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
Breaking the waves
Located in Spetses, GR
Original artwork by Katerina Hatzi, ready to hang. Certificate of authenticity provided by the gallery.
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
Modern Times VI
Located in Nashville, TN
"Modern Times VI" is an acrylic-on-canvas painting from a small series by Cuban artist Carlos Gamez de Francisco. Done at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, this series of portraits depicts only the top half of the female subjects' faces to reflect how people see each other while wearing masks. The artist emphasizes the face by depicting the subject's features, specifically their eyes, in precise detail against blank, monotone backgrounds.
"Modern Times VI" depicts a young woman with light-brown curls and an ornate antique silver headpiece...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Canvas
Coral Garden (Ocean)- oil on canvas, made in white, blue colors
Located in Fort Lee, NJ
The artwork show the incredible beauty of coral reefs, strives to increase the awareness of the fragility of the underwater world and prevent coral bleaching happening due to climate change.
Nikolina Kovalenko received her MFA from Moscow Surikov Art Institute in 2011 and studied at Universität der Künste Berlin. She holds a Gold Medal from the Russian Art Academy. The artist currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
Nikolina is interested in humanity’s philosophical connection with Nature and strives to expose the consequences our everyday actions have on the environment. Her work explores the symbolism of textures found in Nature, magnifying the mundane and transforming it into the sublime. Kovalenko works with fragile ecosystems creating artwork inspired by locations specific to each project. Her subjects range from global warming, deforestation and coral bleaching, to processing and interpreting visual landscape and cultural associations.
Her exhibition history includes an exhibition at The Russian Museum (Saint Peterburg, Russia), solo shows at Gitana Rosa Gallery and Dacia Gallery. The group shows include Cheryl Hazan Contemporary, Mayson Gallery, Select Art Fair, 212 Arts...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Grey House. Oil on canvas. Signed.
Located in Paris, FR
Raf Peeters is a Belgian artist represented by Boycott Gallery.
Category
Early 2000s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Kaleidoscope by Patsy McArthur -oil on canvas, contemporary realistic underwater
Located in Dallas, TX
Scottish artist Patsy McArthur explores the grace and power of human movement in her naturalistic drawings and paintings. Her latest works, including small ink studies, charcoal and ...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Cotton Canvas, Oil
Vienna, Original Watercolor Painting
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Stephen Scott Young
Title: Vienna
Medium: Watercolor on Paper
Year: 1983
Signed: Inscribed Bottom Left and Signed Back of Paper
Dimensions: Unframed 13.5 x 7 Framed 18.5 x 17...
Category
1830s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Watercolor, Paper
Clustered Pots
Located in Deddington, GB
Clustered pots by Jonquil Williamson [2022]
original
Oil Paint on Canvas
Image size: H:60 cm x W:70 cm
Complete Size of Unframed Work: H:60 cm x W:70 cm x D:2cm
Frame Size: H:67.5 c...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"The Winding Path" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Rob Alexander's "The Winding Path" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a dirt foot path snaking its way through the green foothills with large fluffy clouds in the bac...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Wood Panel, Oil
"Aurora" Acrylic Painting
By Julio Labra
Located in Denver, CO
Julio Labra's "Aurora" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a feminine face framed with curly hair and pink & blue tiled patterning.
Artist Biography:
Born in Idaho F...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Board, Acrylic
"Stardust" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Sara Scribner's (US based) "Stardust" is an oil painting that depicts a realistic portrait of a feminine form in profile wearing blue in a blue interior ...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Panel, Oil
"Afternoon Cala Molto", Oil on canvas of underwater swimmers, cool tones
Located in Dallas, TX
"Afternoon Cala Molto" is a stunning oil on canvas by Patsy McArthur, showing a couple underwater swimmere surrounded by refreshing, cool turquoise green water and stunning reflectio...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Cotton Canvas, Oil
"Starburst" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Sara Scribner's (US based) "Starburst" is an oil painting that depicts a realistic portrait of a feminine form in three quarters view wearing blue in a b...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Panel, Oil
Angel In Blue - Oil Acrylic Figurative Colors Ivory Blue White Green
Located in Sofia, BG
"Angel In Blue" is a modern art line painting by Maestro Dimitar Voynov -Junior,
About the artwork:
TECHNIQUE: Acrylic, oil on canvas painting
STYLE: Realistic, Contemporary
Edi...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Cherry Creek" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Andrzej Skorut's (US based) "Cherry Creek" is an oil painting that depicts clouds looming over the vast plains with distant mountains in the background....
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
"Endless Rhythms" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Rob Alexander's "Endless Rhythms" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a blue waves restless crashing and churning.
This painting is currently unframed but will come ...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Panel, Oil
"Magic Pika I" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Sarah Becktel's "Magic Pika I" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a small wild rodent opening its mouth so that a rainbow can arch from it.
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Panel, Oil
"Over the Pass" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Rob Alexander's "Over the Pass" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts an arctic landscape where a mysterious castle perched on a snowy mount...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Self Portrait En Plein Air
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
Oil painting of the artist, Tina Orsolic Dalessio. She is a beautiful, modern day woman with a keen resemblance to Audrey Hepburn. She wears a straw hat, to keep the sun out of her f...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Linen, Oil
Memory. 2003, canvas, acrylic, 80x90 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Memory. 2003, canvas, acrylic, 80x90 cm
Portrait of couple with temple on the background
Igor Leontiev (1957) - one of the leading independent pai...
Category
Early 2000s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Canvas
"Prism", Oil on canvas, underwater female swimmer with red dress, green water
Located in Dallas, TX
"Prism" is a dynamic oil on canvas by Patsy McArthur, showing an underwater swimmer wearing a bright red dress. She is surrounded refreshing, cool turquoise green water.
Scottish ar...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Cotton Canvas, Oil
Trousers - XXI Century, Contemporary Figurative Oil Painting, Minimalistic
Located in Warsaw, PL
Tomasz Kozlowski is a Polish artist, born in 1983 in Piotrkow Trybunalski, He lives and works in Lodz. He studied at the faculty of textiles and fashion of the Fine Arts School in Lo...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Still Life With Oranges In The Basket
Located in Delray Beach, FL
Still Life with Oranges in the basket at night, framed.
RAFAEL SALDARRIAGA was born in Medellin, Colombia in 1955. Arrived in the United States in 1993. After living in New Mexico a...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Rainfores Dusk - oil on wood panel, made in blue, green, violet colors
Located in Fort Lee, NJ
Rainforest Dusk (exotic, tropic trees) - oil on wood panel, made in blue, green, violet colors.
Nikolina Kovalenko received her MFA from Moscow Surikov Art Institute in 2011 and studied at Universität der Künste Berlin. She holds a Gold Medal from the Russian Art Academy. The artist currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
Nikolina is interested in humanity’s philosophical connection with Nature and strives to expose the consequences our everyday actions have on the environment. Her work explores the symbolism of textures found in Nature, magnifying the mundane and transforming it into the sublime. Kovalenko works with fragile ecosystems creating artwork inspired by locations specific to each project. Her subjects range from global warming, deforestation and coral bleaching, to processing and interpreting visual landscape and cultural associations.
Her exhibition history includes an exhibition at The Russian Museum (Saint Peterburg, Russia), solo shows at Gitana Rosa Gallery and Dacia Gallery. The group shows include Cheryl Hazan Contemporary, Mayson Gallery, Select Art Fair, 212 Arts...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Wood Panel, Oil
Setauket Harbor
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
Oil painting of a Long Island seascape. A calm bay plays host to a variety of small boats, anchored still in their slots. The horizon is met with distant land, green trees flank eith...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Panel, Oil
Wilanow, the Royal Palace (Warsaw) - Acrylic painting, Landscape, Architecture
Located in Warsaw, PL
WŁODZIMIERZ KARCZMARZYK (born in 1930) Painter and an architect. He studied at KUL in Lublin, Academy of Fine Arts and University of Technology in Warsaw. Long-term professor of draw...
Category
1970s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Cardboard
Bathing Cap by Jim Salvati, Realism Oil Painting, 2016
By Jim Salvati
Located in Naples, FL
Oil on canvas, 2016
Realist oil painter, Jim Salvati, utilizes texture to add emotion and depth to his panels. His paintings usually depict a lone figure, but are not so much portraits as they are snapshots of emotion in a singular moment. Salvati revels in working with the internal friction of oil paint: “My paintings are extremely thick and layered. I can keep the colors moving until I like what they have done to the piece.” The results are abstract strokes finely calibrated to evoke realist impressions. "Bathing Cap" has been juried and exhibited at 2018-19 Naples Art...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Flag Merchants
By Max Ginsburg
Located in Greenwich, CT
A man selling American flags on the street
Category
Early 2000s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Ba Bird by Fiona Morley - Wire and oil on canvas with custom frame - sculptural
By Fiona Morley
Located in Dallas, TX
Born in Hereford, England, Fiona Morley’s artwork is a combination of illustration and sculptural relief that is achieved with wire, as the line can be taken off the page and into sp...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Wire
Packed Spring Landscape
Located in Malmo, SE
Free shipment worldwide.
Painted on the sides.No frame needed.
Signature: signed and dated in the right corner and titled at the verso.
Reality or fantasy? What is the difference ...
Category
1990s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
"Fallen Goddess" Oil Painting 59" x 47" inch by Dmitriy Krestniy
Located in Culver City, CA
"Fallen Goddess" Oil Painting 59" x 47" inch by Dmitriy Krestniy
ATTENTION: Painting ships rolled in a tube.
A look through Dmitriy’s designs reveals a glamorous, feminine, provoc...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Landscape - Oil on Canvas by A. Donghi - 1937
Located in Roma, IT
Landscape is an original oil on canvas artwork realized by Antonio Donghi in 1937.
Original title: Paesaggio.
Hand-signed and dated by the artist on the lower right margin.
Inclu...
Category
1930s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Alberich's Vision (Rhine Maidens)
By Peter Adams
Located in Pasadena, CA
Provenance
Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist
FRAMED: 82" x 58" x 2.25" UNFRAMED: 72" x 48"
Artist's Statement:
Alberich’s Vision is inspired by Richard Wagner’s fou...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Realist figurative paintings for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Realist figurative paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add figurative paintings created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, purple, red, orange and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Su Yu, Janusz Szpyt, JC Spock, and Matt Talbert. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Oil Paint and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Realist figurative paintings, so small editions measuring 0.5 inches across are also available.
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