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Realist Art

REALIST STYLE

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.

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Style: Realist
Artist: George Tzannes
Corner Stone at Chora Castle - Figurative Painting with Architectural Detail
Located in New York, NY
George Tzannes' Corner Stone at Chora Castle is a 24"x24" inches acrylic figurative painting. It depicts an architectural detail of the ancient castle in Chora, in the Greek island of Kythira. Ancient ruins have been often the subject of paintings through out art history, frequently depicted for their romantic and timeless spiritual quality. This painting by Tzannes is certainly not oblivious of such tradition, yet showing a very personal and unique approach. Instead of depicting the entire building, Tzannes chooses to concentrate on a architectural detail of an ancient castle in the Greek island of Kythira. The clarity and realistic precision with which the stones are painted, like a trompe-l'oeil, confer to this artwork a sculptural quality. The viewer can almost feel the roughness of the stone, the warmth of the Greek sun...
Category

1990s Realist Art

Materials

Acrylic

Ruined Wall at Paliochora
Located in New York, NY
George Tzannes is an American painter of Greek origins. In his twenties he visited Kythera, the Greek island of his father's birth. Since that time, Greece and the island of Kythera ...
Category

1990s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Olive Grove - Black and White Landscape of Greek Island
Located in New York, NY
George Tzannes's Landscape with Olive Tree is a 21.5 x 28.5 inches black and white monotype representing a Greek landscape. Olive trees populate the landscape. Tzannes is an American painter of Greek origins. In his twenties he visited Kythira, the Greek island of his father's birth. Since that time, the island has become the major reference of his creativity. The choice of using black and white to represent this landscape gives the mighty hundred-years old olive trees a monumental presence. The viewer is drawn into the timeless, spiritual quality of the Greek landscape. Despite the absence of color, Tzannes' mastery of drawing creates a tangible effect of the Greek light...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Archival Paper, Monotype

Olive Grove with Cypress Trees - Charcoal Drawing, Greece, Island Black & White
Located in New York, NY
This 22 x 31.5 inches black and white chalk painting on canvas represents a Greek landscape. Olive and cypress trees populate the landscape. Tzannes is an American painter of Greek origins. In his twenties, he visited Kythera, the Greek island of his father's birth. Since then, the island has become the primary reference of his creativity. Using black and white to represent this landscape gives the mighty hundred-year-old olive trees a monumental presence. The viewer is drawn into the timeless, spiritual quality of the Greek landscape. Despite the absence of color, Tzannes' mastery of drawing creates a tangible effect of the Greek light...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Charcoal, Canvas, Chalk

Olive Grove with Hills in the Distance - Charcoal Drawing, Greek Island, Country
Located in New York, NY
This 17.5 x 35 inches black and white chalk drawing on paper represents a Greek landscape. Two olive trees are in the foreground, with the countryside extending behind in the distant horizon. Tzannes is an American painter of Greek origins. In his twenties, he visited Kythera, the Greek island of his father's birth. Since then, the island has become the primary reference of his creativity. Using black and white to represent this landscape gives the mighty hundred-year-old olive trees a monumental presence. The viewer is drawn into the timeless, spiritual quality of the Greek landscape. Despite the absence of color, Tzannes' mastery of drawing creates a tangible effect of the Greek light...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Charcoal, Chalk, Paper

Ancient Rock Wall with Stone-filled Window - Figurative Painting of Greek Wall
Located in New York, NY
This painting measures 13.5"x 11.3". It is a poetic representation of a stone wall in the Greek island of Kythira. George Tzannes is an American painter of Greek origins. In his twen...
Category

1980s Realist Art

Materials

Acrylic

Amphora
Located in New York, NY
This still-life fresco painting is part of a series depicting ancient Greek amphoras and pottery vases from the archaeological site of Paliopol...
Category

1990s Realist Art

Materials

Concrete

Jug - Fresco Painting of Ancient Greek Vase
Located in New York, NY
This painting measures 15.8" x 14" inches. The technique imitates fresco painting. It depicts an ancient Greek vase. It is part of a series depicti...
Category

1990s Realist Art

Materials

Concrete

Landscape with Olive Tree - Black and White Landscape of Greek Island
Located in New York, NY
George Tzannes's Landscape with Olive Tree is a 22 x 24 inches black and white chalk painting on canvas representing a Greek landscape. Olive trees populate the landscape. Tzannes is an American painter of Greek origins. In his twenties he visited Kythera, the Greek island of his father's birth. Since that time, the island has become the major reference of his creativity. The choice of using black and white to represent this landscape gives the mighty hundred-years old olive trees a monumental presence. The viewer is drawn into the timeless, spiritual quality of the Greek landscape. Despite the absence of color, Tzannes' mastery of drawing creates a tangible effect of the Greek light...
Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Chalk, Charcoal, Paper

Vase
Located in New York, NY
This still-life fresco painting is part of a series depicting ancient Greek amphoras and pottery vases from the archaeological site of Paliopol...
Category

1990s Realist Art

Materials

Concrete

Olive Trees in Field - Black and White Monotype with Greek Landscape
Located in New York, NY
George Tzannes's Olive Trees in Field is a 7.5 x 14.5 inches black and white monotype representing a Greek landscape. Olive trees populate the landscape....
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Archival Paper, Monotype

Old Wall in Aroniadika
Located in New York, NY
The focus of this artwork is a subject very dear to Tzannes: the timeless, spiritual quality of ancient ruins. The beautiful stone-wall of an Ancient Greek house, so up-close and alm...
Category

1980s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Amphora
Located in New York, NY
This still-life fresco painting is part of a series depicting ancient Greek amphoras and pottery vases from the archaeological site of Paliopoli, in the Greek island of Kythera, kn...
Category

1990s Realist Art

Materials

Concrete

Tree
Located in New York, NY
Olive trees and olive groves are often the main subject of Tzannes paintings. An American painter of Greek origins, Tzannes visited the Greek island of Kythera in his twenties. Since that time, the island has become the major reference of his creativity. The choice of using black and white to represent this landscape gives the mighty hundred-years old olive trees a monumental presence. The viewer is drawn into the timeless, spiritual quality of the Greek landscape. Despite the absence of color, Tzannes' mastery of drawing creates a tangible effect of the Greek light...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Archival Paper, Monotype

Olive Grove
Located in New York, NY
Olive trees and olive groves are often the main subject of Tzannes paintings. An American painter of Greek origins, Tzannes visited the Greek island of K...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Archival Paper, Monotype

Trees in the Mist - Black and White Greek Landscape with Cypress and Olive Trees
Located in New York, NY
George Tzannes's Trees in the Mist is a 4 x 10 inches black and white monotype representing a Greek landscape. Olive and cypress trees populate the landscape. Tzannes is an American ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Handmade Paper, Monotype

Ancient Wall with Stone-filled Window
Located in New York, NY
George Tzannes is an American painter of Greek origins. In his twenties he visited Kythera, the Greek island of his father's birth. Since that time, Greece and the island of Kythera ...
Category

1990s Realist Art

Materials

Acrylic, Canvas

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Previously Available Items
Olive Tree
Located in New York, NY
George Tzannes is an American painter of Greek origins. In his twenties he visited Kythera, the Greek island of his father's birth. Since that time, the island has become the major reference of his creativity. The hundred-years old olive trees...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Pencil

Olive Tree
Olive Tree
H 14 in W 16.5 in D 1 in
Olive Tree
Located in New York, NY
George Tzannes is an American painter of Greek origins. In his twenties he visited Kythera, the Greek island of his father's birth. Since that time, the island has become the major reference of his creativity. The hundred-years old olive trees...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Pencil

Olive Tree
Olive Tree
H 14 in W 16.5 in D 1 in
Olive Tree With Cypress
Located in New York, NY
Olive trees and olive groves are often the main subject of Tzannes paintings. An American painter of Greek origins, Tzannes visited the Greek island of Ky...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Archival Paper, Monotype

Olive Grove
Located in New York, NY
George Tzannes is an American painter of Greek origins. In his twenties he visited Kythera, the Greek island of his father's birth. Since that time, the island has become the major reference of his creativity. The hundred-years old olive trees, characteristic of the countryside landscape of the island, are the focus of this particular artwork. The viewer is drawn into the timeless, spiritual quality of the Kytherian landscape. Despite the use of only shades of gray and sepia, Tzannes' mastery of drawing creates a tangible effect of the Greek light...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Archival Paper, Monotype

Realist art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Realist art available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add art created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, purple, orange, red and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Slim Aarons, Michael Budden, Daniel Pollera, and Su Yu. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Oil Paint and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Realist art, so small editions measuring 0.1 inches across are also available.

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