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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
Period: 1920s
French school 1920s Brittany Brittons Village fair Pont-Aven Cornouaille
Located in PARIS, FR
J. BREYNAT (XXth century) Oil on cardboard 20 x 30 cm (28 x 38 cm with the frame) Signed and dated lower left "J. Breynat / 1921" Beautiful carved wooden frame from the 19th century ...
Category

1920s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Fishing in Vejle Fjord - Realist Oil, River Landscape by Peder Monk Monsted
Located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
A charming riverscape oil on canvas by Danish Realist painter Peder Mork Monsted. The painting depicts a beautiful spring landscape on a bright day. A man stands fishing on the bank of a river outside a pink cottage. Flowers are bursting into life on the riverbank and int he cottage garden. Signature: Signed, titled and dated 1920 lower left Original artist's label verso Dimensions: Framed: 20"x26" Unframed: 14"x20" Provenance: Private collection - Denmark Mønsted was born at Grenå, Denmark. He was the son of Otto Christian Mønsted and Thora Johanne Petrea Jorgensen. His father was a prosperous ship-builder. At an early age, he began to receive painting lessons at the art school in Aarhus. From 1875 to 1879, studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts with Niels Simonsen and Julius Exner. In 1878, Mønsted studied under the artist Peder Severin Krøyer. In 1882, he spent some time in Rome and Capri then, the following year, visited Paris, where he worked in the studios of William Adolphe Bouguereau. In 1889, he went to Algeria. Three years later, he travelled to Greece, where he was a guest of King George I who had been born a Danish prince. While there, he also did portraits of the Greek royal...
Category

1920s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Sailors at Cafe du Globe
By Charles Rocher
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Charles Rocher (1890-1962. Sailors, ca. 1920s. Gouache on paper. Sheet measures 19 x 25 inches. Considerable damage and loss as depicted. Signed lower left.
Category

1920s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache

"Moonlit River Scene", Early 20th Century Oil on Canvas by Luis Graner y Arrufi
By Luis Graner Y Arrufi
Located in Madrid, ES
LUIS GRANER Y ARRUFI Spanish, 1863 - 1929 MOONLIT RIVER SCENE signed and dated "L. Graner, 1925" (lower right) Oil on canvas 20-1/8 X 30 inches (51X 76 cm.) framed: 25-3/4 X 35-3/4 inches (65 X 90.5 cm.) PROVENANCE NEAL AUCTION COMPANY, New Orleans, LA, USA Private Collection, Barcelona Graner paints this work, Moonlit on the river, during his stay in the United States in the last stage of his artistic life, from 1910 to 1928, in full stage of maturity. This artwork reflects the constant search of the artist for the effects of light in his work. This persistent concern for light remains throughout his artistic life, which he learned in his Parisian stage under the influence of the painter Frances Platour. The silver light of the moon and the small lights at distance, which are tiny foci of artificial light, reflecting the river water, forming a chromatic range of greens, ocher and pearly that give a certain mystery to the composition, creating a modern approach to the landscape, by placing the two large trees at the edge of the river in the foreground Luís Graner y Arrufí, Spanish (1863–1929) was a Catalan painter in the Realistic style. He was born in Barcelona, and studied at the Escola de la Llotja from 1883, with Antoni Caba (color/composition) and Benet Mercadé (drawing). During his final year at school, he received a grant to study in Madrid, where he copied and learned from the Old Masters at the Museo del Prado. After that, supported by a fellowship, he moved to Paris and became a member of the Academie des Beaux-Arts. Later, he returned to Barcelona, but continued to travel to cities throughout Europe, including Berlin, Munich and Düsseldorf. Influenced by Richard Wagner's concept of "Gesamtkunstwerk" (Total Work of Art), he was motivated to create his own total art experience and organized the "Sala Mercè" (Mercy Hall) in Barcelona's Rambla District. The project involved contributors from every artistic discipline, including the new field of cinematography. The room was decorated by Antoni Gaudí. Other participants included Adrià Gual, Santiago Rusiñol, Ramon Casas...
Category

1920s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Beach Curve in the Evening Light by Swedish Artist Herman Österlund, 1920s
Located in Stockholm, SE
Herman Österlund was a Swedish artist best known for his beautiful depictions of the west coast of Sweden. He moved to Stockholm in 1896 and passed the test for entering the Royal A...
Category

1920s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Women to the pearl necklace - Oil on wood 64x53 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Signed " V. Marendaz " but this artist in unknown from the gallery. Dated 1928 Oil on wood without frame
Category

1920s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Portrait of a painter in a costume - Oil on wood 65x53 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Work on canvas with frame The frame is new and the total size is 70x80 cm Signed " V. Marendaz ", Unknonwn artist from the gallery Dated 1920
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1920s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

"Interior of Alcazar of Seville", Early 20th Century oil on canvas by F. Liger
Located in Madrid, ES
FERNANDO LIGER HIDALGO Spanish , 1880 – 1945 "Interior of Alcazar of Seville" Signed & located "F. Liger, Sevilla " (lower left) Oil on canvas 2...
Category

1920s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Edwardian Ecclesiastical Gouache Design for Tripytch Above Altar c1920 Art Deco
Located in London, GB
Anonymous Design for Triptych Above Altar British, c. 1920s Gouache 38×28.5cm Christ Pantocrator stands in the middle of the design, surrounded by the four evangelists (Saints Matthew...
Category

1920s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache

"Seville Gardens", Early 20th Century Oil on Canvas by Manuel García y Rodríguez
Located in Madrid, ES
MANUEL GARCÍA Y RODRÍGUEZ Spanish, 1863- 1925 SEVILLE GARDENS signed, located and dated "Garcia y Rodriguez, Sevilla 1923" (lower left) oil on canva...
Category

1920s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Reales Alcázares de Sevilla" Large 20th Century oil on canvas by Liger Hidalgo
Located in Madrid, ES
FERNANDO LIGER HIDALGO Spanish , 1880 – 1945 "INTERIOR REALES ALCAZARES, SEVILLA" Signed & located "F. Liger Hidalgo, Sevilla " (lower right) ...
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1920s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Early 20th Century 1920s Portrait of a Boyarina
By Bell Dibble Taft
Located in Soquel, CA
Charming portrait of Russian Boyarina by Bell Dibble Taft (American, 1855-1937), 1921. Signed and dated lower left corner and gallery label for Oakland Gallery Exhibit (Oakand Museum...
Category

1920s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Cardboard

20th C. Parisian society Figuarative painting by Albert Guillaume 'Radio Sermon'
Located in White Plains, NY
'Radio Sermon,' 1920's by Parisian artist, Albert Guillaume. Oil on canvas, 21.5 x 26 in. / Frame: 30 x 35 in. This charming and humorous painting depicts a familial group of men, wo...
Category

1920s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Early 20th Century Young Golfer Figurative
By Margaret Neilson
Located in Soquel, CA
Study of a young man with his golf clubs by listed artist Margaret Neilson Armstrong (American, 1867-1944). Image, 14"H x 20"W. Displayed in vintage mat. S...
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1920s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Pencil, Paper

Oil Painting on Canvas "A Little Girl with Flowers in a Garden", 1952
By A. Shukov
Located in Berlin, DE
Oil painting on canvas by A. Shukov (Russia), 1952. Signed: (cyrillic) A. Shukov. Framed. Good condition. Dimensions: 31.5 x 23.62 cm ( 80 x 60 cm )
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1920s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

"Still life with eggs and red flower" Oil cm. 51 x 61 1920
Located in Torino, IT
Still life, eggs, red flower, White, Realism, 1920s Henri VAN DE VELDE (1896-1969)
Category

1920s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Blowing Bubbles
Located in Missouri, MO
Edmund Adler (Rode) "Blowing Bubbles" Oil on Canvas 22 x 27 inches 32 x 37 inches framed Signed Lower Right Edmund Adler (Austrian) 1876-1965 Kno...
Category

1920s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

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1920s Realist Figurative Paintings

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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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