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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.

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Style: Realist
"Symbiosis" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Kierstin Young's (US based) "Symbiosis" is an oil painting that depicts branches and foliage emerging from a female figures nude back and hands with a bright pink background Artist ...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Masonite, Oil

"Punisher, " Mixed media painting
Located in Denver, CO
Gregory Block's (US based) "Punisher" is an original, handmade mixed media artwork that depicts the Punisher symbol made entirely of aluminum. Gregory was born in Kansas City, Miss...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Metal

Threshing 1940. Canvas, oil. 54.5x73.5 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Threshing 1940. Canvas, oil. 54.5x73.5 cm Artist painted scene of every day life of countryside people in working atmosphere - threshing and haying. There is captured two haystacks, tractor, barn, and people in working process. Information about artist...
Category

1940s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

"The Madonna after Raphael" Realism, Figurative Art, Italian artist, Realist
Located in Houston, TX
This Madonna is done after "the style of Raphael". It is known as "The Small Cowper Madonna". Barbara Castrucci began her training as a realist painter at 17 years old in the studio ...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Graduate. Young girl in white dress with flowers. Oil on canvas, 124x63 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Graduate. Oil on canvas, 124x63 cm Valentina Dauksis (1905-1984) (until 1934 Valentina Andreeva) - an artist and ballerina. She was born in the family of a Russian accountant and b...
Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Bondage-Medusa, male figure, classical architecture details mythical realism
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Mythical realism, grey tones, semi- nude male, homo-erotic figure
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Vortex, Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Beth Sistrunk's "Vortex" is an oil on two translucent acrylic panels featuring a model with red petals. About the artist: Beth's interests in painting the figure, women’s fashion, ...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Chinese Contemporary Art by Su Yu - Two Girls on the Roadside
Located in Paris, IDF
Oil on canvas Su Yu is a Chinese artist born in 1987 who lives & works in Beijing in China. He was an old student of prestigious art teachers as Shi Liang & Chen Danqing at Oil Pain...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Tondu
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Presenting an exceptional figurative oil painting by American artist Maurice Green (1908-1993.) Born in 1908 in Latvia, Maurice Green studied with promi...
Category

1970s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

"Edifice" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Judith Peck's (US based) "Edifice" is an oil painting that depicts a feminine figure resting her face on her closed fist while her eyes look away.
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

"Hulk, " Mixed media painting
Located in Denver, CO
Gregory Block's (US based) "Hulk" is an original, handmade mixed media artwork that depicts the Hulk symbol made entirely of aluminum. Gregory was born in K...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Metal

Precipitate, Portrait, Realism, Classical, Florence Academy, Figurative
Located in Houston, TX
Precipitate is painted in the classical style of Realism that he first learned at the Florence Academy of Art. He has painted portraits over the years and is known for showing the expressions in the person's face. He is also know for winning the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo art contest for several years when he was in high school. His paintings sold for over $200,000 with the proceeds going to the scholarship fund. Anton Zhou Painter, Draftsman Anton Zhou is a painter and draftsman whose work operates along the lines of impressionistic realism. Having studied at the Florence Academy of Art and Columbia University in New York City, he paints primarily in oils with elements that span both classical realism and contemporary art. A Houston native, Anton was named a Young Master by the Texas Commission on the Arts and is represented by artist organizations across the states. Artist Statement “Crafted by classical methods and embellished with a vibrant palette, my artistic practice revolves around expressing the ephemeral nature of our surroundings. The transitory state of each happening allows for only brief but pure recollections, so adopting a candid lens is a way of genuinely feeling moments, examining their context and illuminating the beauty woven into this space. A painter of light...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

"Recomposed No. 2" (2019) By Jon Doran, Original Oil painting
Located in Denver, CO
Jon Doran's (UK based) "Recomposed No. 2" is an oil painting created in 2019 and it depicts white and pink roses on a white background. Artist statement: "I am interested in taking...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

"Covenant", Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Dianne L. Massey Dunbar's (US based) "Covenant" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a two lane road stretching into the pastel landscape as rainbows arch overhead. About the artist: When Dianne Massey...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Scene of Genre Comedy of Arts in the Square Flemish Oil Painting on Copper 1650
Located in Milano, IT
17th-century Flemish oil-on-copper painting depicting a foreshortened landscape with figures, a genre scene with a multitude of crowded characters in a street with classical architec...
Category

Mid-17th Century Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Copper

Stained glass project. Paper, tempera, 42x33
Located in Riga, LV
Stained glass project. Paper, tempera, 42x33.5 cm
Category

1980s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Paper, Tempera

"Chalk, Block and Mirror" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
David Cheifetz's "Chalk, Block and Mirror" is an oil painting featuring fruit juxtaposed with blocks. About the artist: David is an internationally acclaimed and collected artist ...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Erwartungsvoll (oil painting woman portrait hair neck flesh tones vintage art)
Located in Quebec, Quebec
keywords; surrealism, portrait, oil painting, earth tones, figurative painting, strangeness, contemporary surrealistic, unsettling, contemporary figurative painting, dreams, symbolic...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Center Stage
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Premiering for the first time in three decades, the original paintings of American artist Maurice Green. Born in 1908 in Latvia, Maurice Green studied with prominent artists of t...
Category

1960s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Chinese Contemporary Art by Su Yu - Broadcast
Located in Paris, IDF
Oil on canvas Su Yu is a Chinese artist born in 1987 who lives & works in Beijing in China. He was an old student of prestigious art teachers as Shi Liang & Chen Danqing at Oil Pain...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Double Checking the Numbers, 16 x 12 oil, Southwest Art, Realist
Located in Houston, TX
Checking the Numbers 16 x 12 oil. Framed. Also shown in images are two other available paintings. Julian Tejera is a contemporary realist from New Jer...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Paper, Oil, Wood Panel

A Dream - Oil Acrylic Figurative Painting Ivory Blue White Brown Green
Located in Sofia, BG
" A dream " is a modern art line painting by Maestro Dimitar Voynov -Junior, About the artwork: TECHNIQUE: Acrylic, oil on canvas painting STYLE: R...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Looking to Paris, Olympics 2024, Emerging Artist, Boxing, Steven Navarro
Located in Houston, TX
Looking to Paris 2024 Steven will most likely be on the USA Olympic Boxing Team. Oil on Canvas 30 x 30 Framed This is an original oil painting from emerging Miami artist Carlos Antonio Rancaño...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Chinese Contemporary Art by Su Yu - Drunk
Located in Paris, IDF
Oil on canvas Su Yu is a Chinese artist born in 1987 who lives & works in Beijing in China. He was an old student of prestigious art teachers as Shi Liang & Che...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Folk story. 1960. Canvas, oil, 39x49 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Folk story. 1960. Canvas, oil, 39x49 cm
Category

1960s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Gypsy girl, 1947. Oil on canvas, 34x37 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Jadviga Žilvinska (1918-2010) was born in Tallinn. She grew up in Liepāja, where her great interest in art began and strengthened, which led the young artist to study at the Art Academy of Latvia. During her studies at the Academy, she studied with K. Ubāns, V. Tone and J. Liepiņš, and defended her diploma thesis under the guidance of L. Liberts. Later on, she devoted her entire life to art, working at the Liepāja School of Fine Arts and as a portraitist at the "Māksla" combine. She had four favourite themes: landscapes, portraits, flowers and sacred painting. Her works have lyricism and inner harmony. In the portraits, we see not only the outer form of a person, but the artist allows us to look into the very essence of a person - it is likely that the models themselves often saw something new and bright in themselves through the artist's vision. The works are executed in various techniques - tempera, oil, pastel and watercolour. CV: 1938 - Graduated from the Liepaja Secondary School of Applied Arts, Department of Decorative Painting. 1943 - Latvian Academy of Art, L. Liberts Figurative Painting Workshop with her diploma work "At the Artist's" 1946-1948 - teacher of painting and drawing at Liepāja Fine Arts High School. 1948-1966 - portraitist at the "Māksla" combine Participated in exhibitions since 1948. Member of the Artists' Union since 1966. Solo exhibitions in Riga, Jelgava, Sigulda (1972); Riga (1975; 1978; two in 1981; 1986; 1994), Jurmala (1979). Works exhibited in Latvia as well as abroad (Poland, Switzerland, Italy, Japan, Finland, Venezuela, Germany, Hungary). The works are located in: "Portrait of Cardinal Julian Vaivoda", 1983, in the Vatican Museum in Rome "Portrait of Pope John Paul II, 1982, in the Roman Catholic Metropolitan Curia of Riga The altarpieces "The Heart of Jesus" and "Our Lady of Fatima", the paintings "John the Baptist" and "The Holy Family" , all from the late 1960s, in the Church of St Mary Magdalene...
Category

20th Century Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Marina Large Pink Oil Painting With Woman and Sail Boats
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
Marina large pink oil painting with woman and sail boats. Artist signed, dated and titled, floater frame. Ethereal oil on canvas figural painting, titled Playa Amarillo (Yellow Beach...
Category

1980s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Cotton Canvas

"Anticipation" contemporary realist painting of 3 fishermen on a dock, seaside
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
"Anticipation" is a realist oil on linen painting. It depicts three men sitting on a dock, the still water and two boats behind them. A large white net is shared between the three of them, resting on their laps as they prepare the net to fish. The center figure, donned in a yellow raincoat...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil

Chinese Contemporary Art by Su Yu - Unfinished
Located in Paris, IDF
Oil on canvas Su Yu is a Chinese artist born in 1987 who lives & works in Beijing in China. He was an old student of prestigious art teachers as Shi Liang & Che...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

"Shangri-La" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Mia Bergeron's (US based) "Shangri-La" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a lone woman, with dark bangs, holding her hand in the yoga position of Shangri-La in a pink...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Girl with wild flowers. 2002, canvas, oil, 64x64 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Girl with wild flowers. 2002, canvas, oil, 64x64 cm
Category

Early 2000s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Sparks on 3rd, Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
David Cheifetz's "Sparks on 3rd" is an oil painting featuring a dramatic city skyline. About the artist: David is an internationally acclaimed and collected ar...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Ina Pesenka, New York in the winter, oil on canvas
Located in Tel Aviv, IL
Ina Pesenka, New York in the winter, Oil on canvas, Israeli artist, israeli art, art
Category

Early 2000s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Girl in a boat
Located in CAMPO REAL, ES
This painting presents a young woman in a boat, motionless in the middle of a lake at sunset. The figure, seen in a three-quarter view, shows her almost bare back, with a white blous...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Three Graces. 1996, oil on wood, 32x23 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Three Graces. 1996, oil on wood, 32x23 cm Three women, small painting Normunds Braslinsh (1962) Born 1962 in Riga, Latvia 1980–1986 Latvian Academy of Art, Painting Department 1973...
Category

1990s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood

Omnicient (oil painting grey monochrome vintage old man beard portrait nostalgia
Located in Quebec, Quebec
keywords; surrealism, portrait, oil painting, earth tones, figurative painting, strangeness, contemporary surrealistic, unsettling, contemporary figurative painting, dreams, symbolic...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Marie Channer, "Breaking Pointe", 24x18 Ballet Dancer Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Saratoga Springs, NY
This piece, "Breaking Pointe", is a 24x18 oil painting on canvas by artist Marie Channer. Featured is a ballet dancer silhouetted in the spotlight of the stage, caught in pose. Glow ...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Outdoor, Winter Self Portrait" Realist oil painting of the artist, outdoors
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
"Outdoor, Winter Self Portrait" is a realist oil on canvas painting. It depicts a self portrait of Rachel Personett with a blue and brownish gray backdrop. In “Outdoor, Winter Self...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

"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

Oil, Panel

"Again and Again" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Mia Bergeron's (US based) "Again and Again" is an oil painting that depicts a lone man surrounded by an interior darkness that is kept at bay with only...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

"Self Portrait in Fox Hood" oil painting of artist, fur winter coat, sunlit face
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
"Self Portrait in Fox Hood" is a realist oil on canvas painting. It depicts a self portrait of Rachel Personett wearing a fox-fur hooded jacket, with a blue sky above. Personett wear...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

In Search of New Beginnings (The Paintings 1)
Located in Fairlawn, OH
In Search of New Beginnings (The Paintings 1) Watercolor on Arches heavyweight paper, 2021 Signed with the artist's initials in the shadows of the books (see photo) Signed, titled an...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

"Ironman, " Mixed media painting
Located in Denver, CO
Gregory Block's (US based) "Ironman" is an original, handmade mixed media artwork that depicts the Ironman symbol made entirely of aluminum. Gregory was born in Kansas City, Missou...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Metal

"Resist" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Mia Bergeron's (US based) "Resist" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a woman, with straight across bangs, in profile where the bright light from a window casts her s...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Tasting the Soup: a work on paper by 19th century British artist Gustav David
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Gustave David (British, 1824-1891) Tasting the Soup Oil on paper, mounted; 9 1/2 x 7 inches Signed at lower left: "G. David" Inscribed on verso: "GUSTAVE DAVID 1824-1891"
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Paper

Madrid Centro - contemporary detailed ink and brush on canvas, black and white
Located in Dallas, TX
Her meticulously constructed paintings play with the duality between the simple and the complex, between the observer and the observed.
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Ink, Acrylic

Armenian Contemporary Art by Kamsar Ohanyan - Spring Day
Located in Paris, IDF
Oil on canvas Kamsar Ohanyan is an Armenian artist born in 1991 who lives and works in Yerevan, Armenia. He studied in Yerevan at State Pedagogical University with Kh. Abovyan at th...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Original oil painting rainy city scene contemporary figurative painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Title: "Orange Umbrella" Medium: Oil on Canvas Size: 40 x 30 inches "Orange Umbrella" is a dynamic and contemporary 40 x 30-inch oil painting depicting two figures walking in an urb...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

"Raspberry Greens" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Robin Cole's (Us based) "Raspberry Greens" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a small patch of foliage and leaves with contending light and shadows dotting their form...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

"In My Lady's House" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Robin Cole's (Us based) "In My Lady's House" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a lady in black and red plaid with bees gently flying and float...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil

The North East Coast of England, Ralph Stubbs, Bridlington 1826 – 1879 Levisham
Located in Knokke, BE
The North East Coast of England Stubbs Ralph Bridlington 1826 – Levisham 1879 English Painter Signature: Signed bottom right and dated 1861, verso stamp Dimensions: Image size 58,5...
Category

19th Century Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Sun Tea in Darkness" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
David Cheifetz's "Sun Tea in Darkness" is an oil painting featuring a yellow, ceramic tea pot with wine glasses. About the artist: David is an internationally acclaimed and colle...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

"ESTUDIO DE LA OTRA ORILLA IV". Contemporary, realism, figurative, landscape
Located in MADRID, ES
Contemporary, realism, figurative, oil, landscapa, waterscape, pastel colors, earth colors
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Wood, Oil

Oil on Canvas Titled "Hopeless Romantic II”
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
"The arrows in the back of the figure symbolizes the amount of times the individual has fallen in love" -Artist Statement Carlos Antonio Rancaño...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

"Cityscape in Yellow", Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Dianne L. Massey Dunbar's (US based) "Cityscape in Yellow" is an oil painting that depicts a busy city street lined with cars and buildings, all cast in a warm yellow light. About...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

"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

Oil, Panel

"Rosi" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Jason Walker's (CAN based) "Rosi" is an oil painting that depicts a realistic portrait of a feminine face at three quarters view with a dark background and luminous green light
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

"Serenity", An He, Realistic Portrait, Original Oil on Canvas, 40x30 in.
Located in Dallas, TX
"Serenity" by An He is a realistic original oil on canvas portrait painting measuring 40x30 in. A mysterious woman in a white dress takes a seat on a white bench in the park surrounded by green foliage during her busy day to write in her journal as she takes off her bonnet. Chinese-American artist An He, also known as Hans Amis, is known for his magnificent portrait paintings of women...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

"Portrait of Charlie" by Emin Abbasov (b. 1950, Azerbaijan), oil on cardboard
Located in SANTA FE, NM
"Portrait of Nathalie" Emin Abbasov (b. 1950, Azerbaijan) Oil on cardboard, signed 4 5/8 x 3 1/2 (16 1/2 x 15 1/4 frame) inches Emin Abbasov is classica...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Cardboard

Lives
Located in CAMPO REAL, ES
In Lives, I explore new forms of expression through anonymous figures cut out against pure color backgrounds. These figures, stripped of their original context, are brought into the ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary 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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