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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2010s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
Early 20th Century Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
19th Century Realist Art
Oil
2010s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
19th Century Realist Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Lambda
2010s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Art
Gold Leaf
1960s Realist Art
Paper, Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Paper, Oil, Panel
Mid-20th Century Realist Art
Paper, Lithograph
2010s Realist Art
Panel, Oil
2010s Realist Art
Other Medium
Early 20th Century Realist Art
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache
20th Century Realist Art
Oil
1990s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
In this serene study of a cloud-filled sky, artist Jill Poyerd captures a sense of depth through the gradual texture change in the receding horizon. The soft,...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Oil
1940s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Art
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Realist Art
Oil, Panel
2010s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Realist Art
Paper, Digital Pigment
1870s Realist Art
Black and White
1980s Realist Art
Resin, Acrylic Polymer
Mid-19th Century Realist Art
Oil
1880s Realist Art
Oil, Canvas
2010s Realist Art
Oil, Panel, Linen
2010s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Art
Board, Paper, Oil
1940s Realist Art
Oil, Board
2010s Realist Art
Oil, Panel
Early 2000s Realist Art
Oil
2010s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Realist Art
Engraving
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
1970s Realist Art
Screen
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Art
Oil, Canvas
Artist Comments
A white farmhouse sits quietly beneath a gray sky, its brick chimneys contrasting against the muted backdrop. A red tractor rests in the golden field. Artist ...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Watercolor
Late 18th Century Realist Art
Canvas, Wood, Oil
2010s Realist Art
Paper, Watercolor
Artist Comments
A yellow rubber duck carries a cupcake on its back. The dark blue and purple background enhances the warm tones of the subjects. The composition exudes both s...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Watercolor
Early 20th Century Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
16th Century Realist Art
Engraving
2010s Realist Art
Digital, Giclée
1970s Realist Art
Oil, Cardboard
Late 19th Century Realist Art
Canvas, Wood, Oil
1920s Realist Art
Engraving, Drypoint, Etching, Aquatint
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Paper, Pastel
Mid-20th Century Realist Art
Ballpoint Pen
1980s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
Early 20th Century Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
Late 19th Century Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Terracotta