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.
$328
Modern fine art photography nature floral meadow on premium paper "Wild grace"
Located in VÉNISSIEUX, FR
Title: "Wild grace" Medium: Archival pigment print on premium matte photo paper Dimensions: 20 x 27 cm / 7.8 x 10.6 inches (unframed) Limited Edition Each photograph is printed o...
Photographic Paper
$2,500
Floral Study 13: still life color photograph w/ dried flowers on black field, lg
By Paul Cava
Located in Bryn Mawr, PA
This is an archival pigment print depicting an abstracted still life printed on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag 308 gsm by artist Paul Cava. It is from the "Flora" series, which is one of three...
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Inkjet, Archival Pigment
$1,200
Untitled (2917): still life photograph w/ vases, cast hands & feet, and shadows
By Paul Cava
Located in Bryn Mawr, PA
This is an archival pigment print depicting an abstracted still life printed on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag 308 gsm by artist Paul Cava. It is from the artist's "Still Life" series, which i...
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Inkjet, Archival Pigment
$1,200
Untitled (2845): still life photograph w/ white vases, bone & cast hands & feet
By Paul Cava
Located in Bryn Mawr, PA
This is an archival pigment print depicting an abstracted still life printed on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag 308 gsm by artist Paul Cava. It is from the artist's "Still Life" series, which i...
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Inkjet, Archival Pigment
$2,450Sale Price|30% Off
Big Sight, Photography by Pico Garcez
By Pico Garcez
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Pico Garcez (b.1963, São Paulo, Brazil) In Love with Photography, Iconography and Painting, exercises his gaze from childhood when he began to play with his first camera. Practicing freedom of look and intuition, seeking aesthetic challenges linked to the observation of the image in subjects such as: solitude, reflections of emptiness and behavior. Awarded by The Art of Intuitive Photography in NY for 4 times, Pico also find his work in the permanent collections of: The Rio Art Museum (MAR), Museum of Modern Art of Bahia (MAM-BA) and Museum of Photography of Fortaleza among other international collections. Having contact with a work of art has to be transformative. This photographic essay by Pico Garcez leads us to this, puts the gaze, sees and sees in constant dispute. The meaning is hidden and this leads us to be co-authors. In Pico's UNCONSCIOUS-NEST, work is not the aesthetics or the colors that speak the most, instead they fog our critical eye, trying to distract us in the central core of which it treats. It is an experience to observe these images. Pico puts us & leaves us in a void where our own inner solitude surfaces - Not having to share with. Where is life, if not ours? We are part of this work for empathy, and in that, Pico was generous - letting us in. UNCONSCIOUS-NEST is not a geographical place, instead it lives in us and everywhere. It shows what we've done for ourselves - it's a pool without a ledge. – “I can but I will not ... - I am here! I want to die and die where I've touched my heart...
Cotton, Archival Paper, Inkjet, Archival Pigment
Street People. Old Man On Park Bench New York City, Monochromatic
Located in Miami, FL
Street Photographer Mitchell Funk breaks with tradition and shoots street photography in color. Today in 2022, this does not seem like a big deal. But 52 years ago, in 1971, it was q...
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
$2,400
H 40 in W 40 in
Peonies Breaking Pattern: Abstract Still Life Photograph of Pink & Green Flowers
Located in Hudson, NY
Colorful, Maximalist style floral still life photograph of pink, green, yellow, and cream colored flowers and succulents Archival digital print, made to order 40 x 40 inches, editio...
Archival Ink, Digital
$1,200
H 24 in W 24 in
The Sky is Wide Open: Abstract Still Life Photograph of Purple & Green Flowers
Located in Hudson, NY
Bright, Maximalist style still life photograph of purple and green flowers and yellow lights against a black background Archival digital print, made to order 24 x 24 inches, edition ...
Archival Ink, Digital
$2,200
H 29 in W 40 in
Shades of Pale - abstract photograph of painterly details of blue toned wall
By Frank Schott
Located in San Francisco, CA
Shades of Pale (Wallscape) by Frank Schott from a series of photographic observances capturing urban textures and color palettes 29 x 40 inches / 74cm x 102cm edition of 25 si...
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment, Archival Ink, Giclée
Deterioration Series 023
Located in New York, NY
Robert Farber Deterioration Series 023 1979-2013 (printed later) Archival pigment print 60 x 40 inches edition of 5 This image is part of Robert Farber’s Deterioration Series which...
Archival Pigment
$4,500
H 40 in W 60 in
"On the Edge of Nothingness, n5" Giclee Print, Abstract Photography, Limited Ed.
By Hatice Besun
Located in Brooklyn, NY
On the edge of nothingness / n°5 / Photograph Creator: Hatice Besun Creation year: 2024 Dimension: 40 x 60” External Dimension( with white border) Height:40.8 in.( 103.63 cm) Width:...
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment, Giclée
$3,800
H 48 in W 86 in
Airfield - large scale aerial observation of aeronautical facility
Located in San Francisco, CA
large scale photograph morphing into a mesmerizing abstract tapestry, a highly detailed aerial photograph, on closer observation morphing into an abstract pictorial tapestry of deser...
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment, Giclée
1959 Porsche 365B Coupe
By Nick Veasey
Located in München, BY
Edition 9 Framed Chromaluxe X-Ray of a 1959 Porsche 365B Coupe. A man with x-ray vision, NICK VEASEY creates art that shows what it is really like inside. Nick’s work with radiogra...
Archival Pigment
$1,078
H 29.53 in W 21.07 in
The Bog Plants 005 by Bernhard Lang - Close-up photography, red tones, flora
Located in Paris, FR
The Bog Plants 005 is a limited-edition photograph by contemporary artist Bernhard Lang. It is a Fine Art Print on Hahnemüle Paper. This photograph is sold unframed as a print only...
Photographic Paper
$1,078
H 29.53 in W 21.07 in
The Bog Plants 002 by Bernhard Lang - Close-up photography, orange tones, flora
Located in Paris, FR
The Bog Plants 002 is a limited-edition photograph by contemporary artist Bernhard Lang. It is a Fine Art Print on Hahnemüle Paper. This photograph is sold unframed as a print only...
Photographic Paper
$1,750
H 24 in W 36 in D 0.1 in
"Starburst" Photography 24" x 36" inch Edition 1/15 by Larsen Sotelo
Located in Culver City, CA
"Starburst" Photography 24" x 36" inch Edition 1/15 by Larsen Sotelo Not framed. Ships in tube Signed and numbered by the artist. Comes with COA issued by the artist. Giclee (Archiv...
Archival Ink, Rag Paper, Giclée
$3,600
H 30 in W 62.5 in
Hemisphere IV - large format photograph of abstract liquid cloudscapes in water
Located in San Francisco, CA
large scale photography of mesmerizing color compositions of liquid cloudscape painting in water, hypnotizing abstract liquidscapes from the body of works titled 'Hemisphere' Hemisp...
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment, Giclée
1972 Porsche 911 Targa, 2020
By Nick Veasey
Located in München, BY
Edition 15, framed Chromaluxe Original 1972 Porsche 911 Targa A man with x-ray vision, NICK VEASEY creates art that shows what it is really like inside. Nick’s work with radiograph...
Archival Pigment
Lake Tahoe Trip, Slim Aarons Estate Edition (free shipping)
By Slim Aarons
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Young women canoeing on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe, 1959. 40 x 40 inches $3950 30 x 30 inches $2350 20 x 20 inches $2500 Complimentary dealer shipping to your framer, worldwi...
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