Realist 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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Early 2000s Realist Paintings
Pastel
2010s Realist Paintings
Oil, Panel
2010s Realist Paintings
Oil, Panel
1970s Realist Paintings
Oil, Board
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Wood, Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Oil, Panel
1910s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil
Early 2000s Realist Paintings
Oil
Early 20th Century Realist Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
A young woman walks through a myriad of water lilies, her illuminated figure contrasting sharply with the dark lake. Her posture and radiant hair create a fee...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil
1960s Realist Paintings
Oil, Canvas
2010s Realist Paintings
Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Copper
1940s Realist Paintings
Oil, Board
Late 19th Century Realist Paintings
Oil
Early 20th Century Realist Paintings
Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Gold Leaf
2010s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1980s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1980s Realist Paintings
Linen, Oil
Artist Comments
Towering coconut palm trees stretch into a vibrant blue sky, their fronds swaying gently in the breeze. Expressive strokes and texture bring out the details o...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil
1920s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Mid-19th Century Realist Paintings
Linen, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1990s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Paint, Oil
Early 1900s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Mid-19th Century Realist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Gold Leaf
Mid-20th Century Realist Paintings
Oil
1910s Realist Paintings
Oil, Cotton Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Board, Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
1950s Realist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
Late 20th Century Realist Paintings
Board
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil, Board
1880s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Mixed Media, Canvas
1990s Realist Paintings
Paper, Pastel, Watercolor
Early 20th Century Realist Paintings
Watercolor, Rag Paper, Pencil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil, Canvas
Early 20th Century Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil