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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Mid-20th Century Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 20th Century Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
19th Century Realist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
1680s Realist Paintings
Paper, Ink, Gouache
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil, Canvas
2010s Realist Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
A bright blue sky stretches over a scalloped coastline. Safe in the rookery below the cliffs, elephant seals bask in the sun, their voices blending with the c...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil
1990s Realist Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Realist Paintings
Linen, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Late 19th Century Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Realist Paintings
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Oil, Panel
1980s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Board, Paper, Oil
19th Century Realist Paintings
Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Realist Paintings
Watercolor
20th Century Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Oil, Panel
2010s Realist Paintings
Oil, Panel
2010s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1940s Realist Paintings
Oil, Cardboard
2010s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
18th Century Realist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Panel, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Oil
19th Century Realist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Realist Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
1910s Realist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Fabric, Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil
19th Century Realist Paintings
Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Paper, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Artist Jose Luis Bermudez paints a realistic landscape with a clear dawn sky over a vibrant ecosystem of plants. On the hori...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil
20th Century Realist Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
A field of red poppies bursts with vibrant color, illuminated by the golden hues of a setting sun. Bold strokes capture the depth and vitality of the scene. Pai...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Panel, Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor
1970s Realist Paintings
Oil, Cardboard
2010s Realist Paintings
Gesso, Paint, Varnish, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic, Board
2010s Realist Paintings
Oil, Linen
Artist Comments
A pair of little woodpeckers perch on opposite sides of a branch, busy probing the small holes they've made for fresh tree sap. The intricate features of their plumage and the textured bark create a striking contrast against the stark white background. Rendered in vibrant colors and fine detail, artist Emil Morhardt brings this charming scene to life.
About the Artist
Emil Morhardt is an acrylic painter from Santa Barbara, California who expresses his passion for birds through realistic acrylic paintings. He paints at home in a studio room that has large windows and a north-facing view of the mountains. He observes the animals from this window, watching roadrunners, foxes, bobcats, deer, and coyote run by. Surrounded by this wildlife, Emil paints bird portraits reminiscent of those by artist John James Audubon. He bases his paintings off hundreds of photographs he takes of birds in the wild and at wildlife recovery centers. Emil captures the freedom and inquisitiveness that birds display...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Acrylic
1960s Realist Paintings
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache
2010s Realist Paintings
Gold Leaf
20th Century Realist Paintings
Oil, Panel