Realist Art
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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Artist Comments
The setting sun transforms an evening walk in an average neighborhood into a vibrant light show. Whispy clouds spread across the sky, reflecting the soft yellow...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Oil
16th Century Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
19th Century Realist Art
Oil
1970s Realist Art
Lambda
Late 19th Century Realist Art
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
1930s Realist Art
Ballpoint Pen
20th Century Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Oil
2010s Realist Art
Emulsion, Photographic Paper, C Print, Giclée
2010s Realist Art
Oil, Panel
2010s Realist Art
Photographic Film, Emulsion, Watercolor, C Print, Color, Dye Transfer, L...
1990s Realist Art
Paper, Pastel
2010s Realist Art
Linen, Oil, Wood Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Photographic Paper
Late 19th Century Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Art
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
1920s Realist Art
Oil, Board
Late 20th Century Realist Art
Egg Tempera
1850s Realist Art
Ink, Woodcut
1920s Realist Art
Etching
2010s Realist Art
Oil, Panel
1970s Realist Art
Watercolor, Archival Paper
20th Century Realist Art
Oil
2010s Realist Art
Pastel
1940s Realist Art
Paper, Charcoal
2010s Realist Art
Digital, Giclée
1910s Realist Art
Bronze
1940s Realist Art
Oil
Artist Comments
Brightly colored brown eggs rest on top of a rustic safe, depicting them as treasures. It is a thought-provoking still-life that questions the price of food in ...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Watercolor
2010s Realist Art
Resin, Acrylic, Gouache
Mid-20th Century Realist Art
Oil, Board
19th Century Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Art
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
A loose expressionistic style brings this imaginary valley of red flowers to life. The dramatic sky pulses with energy, infusing the scene with movement and atm...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Acrylic
2010s Realist Art
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
1770s Realist Art
Engraving, Watercolor, Laid Paper, Intaglio
1820s Realist Art
Printer's Ink, Rice Paper, Woodcut
Late 20th Century Realist Art
Paper, Lithograph
2010s Realist Art
Oil, Panel
Early 1900s Realist Art
Oil, Board
1860s Realist Art
Bronze
2010s Realist Art
Acrylic
1850s Realist Art
Watercolor, Handmade Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Art
Oil
2010s Realist Art
Paper, Watercolor
1990s Realist Art
Oil
20th Century Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Art
Paper, Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Oil, Board
2010s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
1970s Realist Art
Photographic Paper
1950s Realist Art
Oil, Wood Panel