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.
Still life: Allure of blue
Located in Zofingen, AG
”Still Life: Allure of Blue” presents a quiet, contemplative arrangement centered on a Chinese porcelain vase with soft blue landscape motifs. A loose bouquet of forget-me-nots rises...
Canvas, Oil
An Artist Working in the Studio 1930
Located in Stockholm, SE
This intimate studio interior from 1930 belongs to the more psychologically engaging side of Carlo Hornung Jensen’s oeuvre. A seated woman has paused beside her easel and turned towa...
Oil, Board
Antique European Old Master Style Flower Still Life Framed Interior Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique European still life oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. Measuring: 27 by 21 inches overall, and 22 by 16 painting alone. Excellent condition, ready to hang and enjoy.
Oil, Canvas
Daffodils in a milk jug
Located in Zofingen, AG
These daffodils picked in my garden set in a milk jug. The various shades of yellow-white color and the choice of details made it possible to convey the beauty of flowers. The blue p...
Canvas, Oil
Quiet day
Located in Zofingen, AG
A poised still life rendered in luminous oil, where light glides across a draped table, revealing the tender gleam of porcelain and the play of silken folds. Two white jugs, a cup a...
Canvas, Oil
Fruits hidden from autumn
Located in Zofingen, AG
The painting was created after a September trip to Alsace. During a walk, I noticed beautiful green fruits — not yet ripe, framed by dark leaves. They seemed to have been taken from ...
Canvas, Oil
The Dueling Partners 1850's French Oil, Chateau Staircase Interior Beautiful oil
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Duel by Alcide Joseph LORENTZ (French 1813-1891) signed and dated 1857 oil painting on canvas, framed framed size: 30 x 25 inches canvas: 25 x 20.5 inches condition: very good an...
Canvas, Oil
Train to Sunset, Oil Painting
By Nick Savides
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Set on a winter evening at the 4th Avenue/9th Street station in Brooklyn, this painting captures a vivid sunset framed by the converging diagonals of the train ...
Oil
Pomegranates
Located in Zofingen, AG
The serene ceramic jar anchors the composition, creating a quiet dialogue between matte surfaces and glossy fruit. The carefully draped striped tablecloth introduces rhythm and movem...
Canvas, Oil
$8,227
Moonlit night. By Georgy Skripnichenko. 1975. Oil on canvas. 50/40 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Georgy Skripnichenko, born on November 12, 1940, in Mykolaiv, Ukrainian SSR, and passing in Minsk on August 12, 2015, was a Belarusian surrealist painter who also created realist wor...
Canvas, Oil
$24,000
"Le Petit Déjeuner" Oil Painting, Realist Still Life, Milk, Bread & Jam, framed
By Sarah Lamb
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
"Le Petit Déjeuner" is an original oil painting by Sarah Lamb. It depicts a variety of bread along with jam, butter, and milk on a wooden table. Sourdough, Challah, Baguette, etc. B...
Oil, Canvas
$400Sale Price|46% Off
Girl Sitting On Beach
Located in Atlanta, GA
Item is in excellent condition and has only been displayed in a gallery setting. Item includes frame Vincente Esparza was born in Graus, Huesca in 1946. In 1967 he began his studie...
Board, Oil
$1,980Sale Price|20% Off
Antique American Fluffy Pomeranian Dog Portrait Wide Gold Frame Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Incredible signed early American dog portrait painting. Oil on board. Signed. Housed in a period gold giltwood frame.
Canvas, Oil
Lullwater Bridge – Prospect Park
By Nick Savides
Located in San Francisco, CA
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...
Oil
$217
Spring Collection: Pocket Bluebells, Baroque Still Life, Flower art, Realism
Located in Deddington, GB
Spring Collection: Pocket Bluebells is an original oil painting by Dani Humberstone as part of her Pocket Painting series featuring small scale realistic oil paintings, with a nod to...
Canvas, Oil
![Pocket Pale Blue Sloes [2023], Baroque Still Life Painting, Small art, Fruit art](https://a.1stdibscdn.com/dani-humberstone-paintings-pocket-pale-blue-sloes-2023-baroque-still-life-painting-small-art-fruit-art-for-sale/a_6323/a_137130821704282745187/1_master.jpg?width=240)
![Pocket Pale Blue Sloes [2023], Baroque Still Life Painting, Small art, Fruit art](https://a.1stdibscdn.com/dani-humberstone-paintings-pocket-pale-blue-sloes-2023-baroque-still-life-painting-small-art-fruit-art-for-sale-picture-2/a_6323/a_137130821704299587444/IMG_3602_master.JPG?width=240)
Pocket Pale Blue Sloes [2023], Baroque Still Life Painting, Small art, Fruit art
Located in Deddington, GB
Pocket Pale Blue Sloes is an original oil painting by Dani Humberstone as part of her Pocket Painting series featuring small scale realistic oil paintings, with a nod to baroque stil...
Canvas, Oil
Small garden. Dahlia
Located in Zofingen, AG
This composition suggests a garden gathered and brought inside, captured in a rare moment of perfect balance. The interplay of pinks and golds creates a harmonious, almost musical r...
Canvas, Oil
Antique American Super Realist Trompe L'Oeil Framed Signed Still Life Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Early American super realist trompe l'oeil still life oil painting. Framed. Oil on canvas, lain to board. Signed. Image size, 14H by 10L.
Canvas, Oil
Signed Antique American 19th Century Realist Still Life Nicely Framed Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American oil painting. Oil on canvas. Signed. Framed. Measuring 21 by 25 inches overall and 14.5 by 18.5 painting alone.
Canvas, Oil
$1,020Sale Price|20% Off
Antique American School Trompe L'Oeil Artist Studio Interior Scene Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Wonderfully painted American modernist still life oil painting. Framed. Oil on canvas. Image size, 24H by 20L. Finely executed realist school.
Canvas, Oil
Hydrangea Flowers Bouquet, Impressionist Oil on Canvas, 25x25cm
Located in Zofingen, AG
Hydrangea Flowers - Floral Harmony – Original Oil Painting on Canvas by Olga Nikitina Hydrangea Painting is an original oil painting by Olga Nikitina, created with a palette knife i...
Canvas, Oil
Fromage
Located in Zofingen, AG
This original oil painting captures a still life scene viewed from above, inviting you to explore its intimate details. At the center, a wooden board showcases a variety of cheeses, ...
Canvas, Oil
Moonlit Village, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
This original oil painting depicts a tranquil and distinctive ancient Chinese village under the moonlight. The still water beneath the cloudy night sky reflects...
Oil
Night Out, Oil Painting
By Nick Savides
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
Two adjoining East Village institutions, Milon and Panna II on First Avenue, fill the scene with competing neon lights and hanging decorations. A group of women...
Oil
Realistic Still Life Painting, "Seemingly Ordinary #10" 2022
Located in San Diego, CA
This is a one of a kind original painting by southern California artist, Leslie Winokur. Its dimensions are 20" x 10" x 1" (HxWxD). It is oil on linen. ...
Oil
An Old 19th Century Genre Interior Depicting An Afternoon Nap, 1877
Located in Stockholm, SE
Jakob Kulle (1838–1898) Sweden An Afternoon Nap, 1877 signed and dated oil on canvas unframed 61 × 48 cm (24 × 18.9 in) framed 79 × 67 cm (31.1 × 26.4 in) Provenance: Purchased di...
Canvas, Oil
Vintage Realist Landscape with Horse and Sheep Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Vintage American school realist landscape oil painting. Oil on canvas. Framed. Provenance from a Sag Harbor, NY collection. Measuring: 23 by 28 inches overall. Handsomely framed in ...
Canvas, Oil
Odalisque - Woman in a Harem - French 1900 Orientalist art portrait oil painting
By Lucien Laurent Gsell
Located in Hagley, England
This charming ex Christie's Victorian Orientalist oil painting is by noted French exhibited artist Lucien Laurent Gsell. The painting dates to around 1900 and portrays a beautiful yo...
Oil
Old Times House Interior Scene with Naughty Boy 19th century Genre Oil Painting
Located in Stockholm, SE
The painting captures a wonderfully amusing family moment set in the 16th century. In the center of the painting we see the father, exhausted by worries and dozing in his chair in fr...
Canvas, Wood, Oil
Artist in his Studio - French 19th century art figurative interior oil painting
Located in Hagley, England
This lovely French 19th century figurative Impressionist oil painting is by Adolphe Monticelli. Painted circa 1870 the painting depicts a group of seven figures amusing themselves in...
Oil
Antique Large Paris Salon Interior Portrait Framed Classical Rare Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique French interior portrait oil painting by Charles August Corbineau (1835 - 1901). Oil on canvas. Signed. Framed. Measuring: 38 by 44 inches overall, and 29 by 36.5 painting al...
Canvas, Oil
$7,474Sale Price|35% Off
Still Life with Fruit & Bread Rustic French Farmhouse Interior by French Artist
Located in Preston, GB
Still Life with Fruit & Bread Rustic French Farmhouse Interior by 20th Century French Artist, Robert Chailloux (1913-2006). Art measures 29 x 23....
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
Signed Antique Flower Painting, framed on canvas. Exhibited
Located in St. Albans, GB
Dominique Rozier Signed Antique Frame and Painting. Exhibited painting Canvas Size: 24 x 29" (61 x 74cm) Outside Frame Size: 34 x 39" (86 x 99cm) Dominique Rozier was a French pain...
Oil, Canvas
$2,224Sale Price|20% Off
Roosters and Hens in a Barn 19th century E. Binam
Located in SANTA FE, NM
Roosters and Hens in a Barn 19th century E. Binam (Belgian? 19th century) Signed lower left Oil on wood panel 8 1/4 x 5 /12 (10 1/4 x 13 1/4 frame) Though little is known about E. ...
Oil, Wood Panel
Assassination of Clarence in the Tower; Scene from Richard III, Act I, Sc. 4
Located in Stockholm, SE
Egron Sellif Lundgren (Stockholm 1815–1875 Stockholm) The assassination of George, Duke of Clarence in the Tower of London; A Scene from Shakespeare’s Richard III (Act I, scene 4) ...
Canvas, Oil
An auction at Drouot's in Paris.
By René Francois Xavier Prinet
Located in Paris, FR
An auction at Drouot's in Paris. Oil on canvas. Signed lower right. Around 1900-1910. René François Xavier Prinet (31 December 1861, Vitry-le-François – 26 January 1946, Bourbonne-les-Bains) was a French painter and illustrator who drew his subjects from middle-class society. He was born to Henri Prinet, an Imperial Prosecutor in Vitry-le-François. A promotion led to him being posted in Paris, where they lived in a home not far from the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. His father painted as a hobby and was supportive of his desire to study art, having him seek the advice of Louis Charles Timbal [fr], a well-known church painter and friend of the family. Around 1880, he began his studies in earnest, in the studios of Jean-Léon Gérôme; remaining with him until 1885. That year, his painting "The Infant Jesus" was accepted for display at the Salon. This was followed by studies at the Académie Julian. At this time, he also became associated with a group of young artists known as the Bande Noire (Black Stripe), which included Lucien Simon, André Dauchez...
Oil
$14,216Sale Price|20% Off
Vincenzo Colleoni (Venetian Master) - 19th century painting - Interior scene
Located in Varmo, IT
Vincenzo Colleoni (Active in Venice in the second half of the 19th century) - Interior scene with masked characters. 110 x 160 cm without frame, 145 x 194 cm with frame. Antique oi...
Canvas, Oil
Venice at Dusk, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
The artwork captures the quiet majesty and solemn atmosphere of Venice. The church bells seem to linger in the air, while the fading light glides across the wat...
Oil
$587
SUMMER TIME BLISS Plainair oil painting Nature landscape countryside Sunny day
Located in Zofingen, AG
This art piece was creating in wonderfull summer day on plain air. Will be sent with decorative frame. The artwork are treated with a lightly glossy top coat that seals and prote...
Canvas, Oil
Still Life with Fruit and Vessels
Located in Stockholm, SE
Housed in an elaborate late nineteenth-century carved gilt frame lined with deep red velvet, the painting offers a harmonious composition of carefully arranged objects illuminated by...
Oil, Wood Panel
Berries in a golden bowl
Located in Zofingen, AG
The scene is set with a quiet reverence—a simple golden bowl, brimming with the last treasures of the season. These are not just fruits; they are memories of sunlight, gathered and p...
Canvas, Oil
Three Pears
By Thomas Prentiss
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Presenting an outstanding original oil painting by American artist Thomas Prentiss b.1920. Three Pears, is painted in the hyper realistic trompe l'oeil style, viewing this painting ...
Oil
Pocket Peach - original realism still life fruit - contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Canvas, Oil
Pocket Lemon - original realism still life fruit - contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...
Canvas, Oil
$15,800
"Ripening Peaches" Still Life Oil Painting, Realist, Signed, 20x27 inches framed
By Sarah Lamb
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
"Ripening Peaches" is a realist still life oil painting by Sarah Lamb. It depicts a brown paper bag surrounded by five peaches on the table with a cool grey background. “Ripening Pea...
Canvas, Oil
23rd Street Sunset, Oil Painting
By Nick Savides
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
A woman walks west along East 23rd Street, catching her reflection in a store window. Farther off, figures cast long shadows toward the pavement. The restrained...
Oil
Vintage American Modernist Shoe Shine Interior Scene Realist Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Impressive early American modernist interior oil painting. Framed. Oil on canvas. Signed. Image size, 20H by 20L.
Canvas, Oil
Ralpha's, Oil Painting
By Nick Savides
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
A nocturnal painting depicts Ralph’s Famous Italian Ices and Ice Cream on Avenue A in the East Village. It's a tranquil October night, with the server idly ...
Oil
Fruit Bowl and Candle - original realism still life acrylic painting art
Located in London, Chelsea
We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. Laura Critchlow’s "Fruit Bowl and Candle" is a poetic still life that marries clas...
Acrylic, Board
$60,000
"Mother and Child" Important 19th Century Oil Painting
By Paul Alexandre Alfred Leroy
Located in New York, NY
A wonderful depiction of mother and child displayed in a gold round ornate frame with intricate details.
Canvas, Oil
Narcissus. Original Oil Painting with Flowers by Irina Trushkova
Located in Zofingen, AG
These stunning spring narcissus are placed in a transparent vase. The bright yellow flowers create a vivid color contrast against the silvery blue background focusing the viewer's ey...
Canvas, Oil, Lacquer
Japanese cherry. Original oil painting
Located in Zofingen, AG
“Japanese cherry“ is a painting that pays homage to the natural beauty and timeless elegance of this flowering tree. My intention was to keep tenderness and fragility of flowers, a ...
Canvas, Oil
$18,600
"The Rembrandt Room" Realist Oil Painting on Canvas, Museum Scene, Framed
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
"The Rembrandt Room" is a realist oil painting by Steven J. Levin. It depicts three people in a museum gallery. One person is looking at the art, another is seated on a bench, with t...
Canvas, Oil
"Purple Brass and Citrus" Realist Still-Life Oil Painting on Canvas
By Jeff Legg
Located in Denver, CO
Jeff Legg's (US based) "Purple Brass and Citrus" is an oil painting created in 2022 depicting a golden brass jar with purple leaves, grapes and orange citrus. About the artist: Jeff...
Oil, Canvas
Pruned, 12 x 12, Still Life, Oil Painting
By Robin Cole
Located in Denver, CO
Robin Cole's "Pruned," a 2024 original, is an intimate oil on mounted linen painting that measures 12 x 12 inches, encased in a frame that extends the dimensions to 17 x 17 inches. T...
Oil
Portrait of a Lady Sewing - British 19th century art Newlyn School oil painting
Located in Hagley, England
This beautiful late 19th century portrait oil painting is attributed to circle of Walter Langley. It has the hallmarks of the Newlyn School of artists such as the subject matter, com...
Oil
Antique American Realist Interior Portrait Signed Framed Original Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Vintage American modernist abstract landscape oil painting by Charles Courtney Curran (1861 - 1942) . Oil on canvas, lain to board. Framed. Measuring: 23 by 27 inches overall, and 18...
Board, Oil
Magnolia. Original oil painting
Located in Zofingen, AG
These stunning magnolia placed in a transparent vase. A dark background helps to reveal delicate forms of flowers and capture the reactions of light with glass. The medium used is oi...
Canvas, Oil
$1,481Sale Price|25% Off
Vintage American Modernist Super Realist Trompe L'Oeil Cactus Avacado Still Life
Located in Buffalo, NY
Vintage American realist still life. Oil on canvas. Unframed.
Canvas, Oil
The Sitting Room at Castle Ward Co Down. Northern Ireland
By Simon Kozhin
Located in Zofingen, AG
Living room in an Irish castle in the neo-Gothic style with a soaring ceiling as if striving to heaven. The interior itself is flooded with cold light pen...
Cotton Canvas, Oil