Realist Landscape 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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Artist Comments
As the sun rises, the world undergoes a magical transformation. The sky turns vivid and saturated, lending its breathtaking colors to the water below. Smooth ...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Paintings
Oil
Late 20th Century Realist Landscape Paintings
Oil
1860s Realist Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Landscape Paintings
Paint, Acrylic, Wood Panel
1880s Realist Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Paintings
Gouache
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Paintings
Oil, Canvas
2010s Realist Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Paintings
Oil, Canvas
2010s Realist Landscape Paintings
Oil, Panel
Late 19th Century Realist Landscape Paintings
Oil
2010s Realist Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Paintings
Linen, Oil
2010s Realist Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Landscape Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1910s Realist Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
The sun sets on the Grand Canyon, leaving a blanket of soft light over its ridges. It is a magical time as a mesmerizing array of colors fills the landscape. ...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Paintings
Oil
19th Century Realist Landscape Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1940s Realist Landscape Paintings
Oil, Board
2010s Realist Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1890s Realist Landscape Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
Artist Comments
A tranquil morning scene unfolds with soft, harmonious colors. Umber hills rise gently between the turquoise ocean and the expansive blue sky. The calls of bi...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Paintings
Oil
1990s Realist Landscape Paintings
Watercolor
1840s Realist Landscape Paintings
Wood, Oil
2010s Realist Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Landscape Paintings
Wood, Oil, Acrylic
Artist Comments
The warm rays of the summer sun illuminate a rock formation in the Grand Canyon. Through light and shadow, the landscape reveals its beautiful contours, sculp...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Paintings
Oil
1980s Realist Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Realist Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Landscape Paintings
Oil
20th Century Realist Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 2000s Realist Landscape Paintings
Oil, Board
Late 20th Century Realist Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Landscape Paintings
Oil, Board
Late 19th Century Realist Landscape Paintings
Watercolor, Paper
1970s Realist Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Paintings
Oil
2010s Realist Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Landscape Paintings
Gesso, Canvas, Paint, Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Watercolor
2010s Realist Landscape Paintings
Lacquer, Acrylic, Canvas
Artist Comments
Ocean waves crash onto the shore beneath a dramatic, stormy sky, with colors dancing throughout the scene. This seascape evokes the idea of finding light in d...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Paintings
Oil, Panel
Artist Comments
A rare sight of snow covers the iconic Big Sur coastline on an evening of beauty and calm. Twinkling stars and the moon punctuate the sky, creating a display ...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Paintings
Oil
1990s Realist Landscape Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Mandy Main presents an expansive, glowing landscape with an accentuated perspective that pulls the eye deep into the distance. "The impressive momentum...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Paintings
Oil
Mid-20th Century Realist Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
The vibrant colors in this piece highlight a dynamic interplay of orange and green hues, evoking freshness and vitality. It captures the essence of abundance ...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Paintings
Oil
2010s Realist Landscape Paintings
Oil, Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Paintings
Oil