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.
Find authentic realist paintings, sculptures, prints and more art on 1stDibs.
Late 20th Century Realist Paintings
Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Gesso, Paint, Varnish, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic, Board
19th Century Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil, Board
Artist Comments
The artwork captures the serenity of the ocean. Painted with oil paint and cold wax, the waves carry a slightly raised texture, adding to the realistic qualit...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil
1970s Realist Paintings
Ink, Watercolor
2010s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Paint, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
1890s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Board
2010s Realist Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
A delivery person with a bright green helmet stands outside Stromboli Pizza in East Village, giving the impression of an otherworldly visitor. Inside, a woman busies herself with preparing the food behind the counter. The red and orange bar stools...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Late 19th Century Realist Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil
1940s Realist Paintings
Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Panel
Early 1900s Realist Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil, Acrylic, Canvas
2010s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
1970s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Realist Paintings
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Linen, Oil
1980s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1860s Realist Paintings
Oil, Board
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Brass
2010s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Linen, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil, Panel
1990s Realist Paintings
Gesso, Canvas, Cotton, Paint, Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil
1980s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1970s Realist Paintings
Watercolor, Rag Paper
17th Century Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Mid-19th Century Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
A woman glances sharply to her right, her expression poised between curiosity and caution. Rendered in stark black and white, the piece gives a timeless and cin...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Acrylic
Late 20th Century Realist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil, Canvas
2010s Realist Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil
1990s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Oil, Linen
1920s Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Paintings
Linen, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings
Paper, Pastel
1930s Realist Paintings
Lithograph
17th Century Realist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1880s Realist Paintings
Oil, Panel