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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
"Evening"
"Evening"

"Evening"

Located in Edinburgh, GB

Evening Ascent to Silence What you see before you is not a fantasy, but a living memory of a place. In 2009, Alexander Khrapachov stood with his brush in front of these ancient ste...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil

"Still Life" by Eve Cornejo, Oil on Canvas with Deep Browns, Near Black Hues
"Still Life" by Eve Cornejo, Oil on Canvas with Deep Browns, Near Black Hues

"Still Life" by Eve Cornejo, Oil on Canvas with Deep Browns, Near Black Hues

Located in Oklahoma City, OK

This still life by Russian-American artist Eve Cornejo is simultaneously dark and full of color. The ruby red vessel in particular nearly jumps off of the canvas in contrast to the b...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Golden Glow, Oil Painting
Golden Glow, Oil Painting

Golden Glow, Oil Painting

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Artist Jose Luis Bermudez presents a tranquil lake bathed in a radiant golden light. "The atmosphere envelops this setting, providing a sense of stability and connection to the earth," says Jose Luis. The water reflects a magical and captivating effect as the sun sits low in the sky, just above the trees. Plants reach for the last rays, vibrant and full of life, while the atmosphere glows with deep yellow hues. Jose Luis invites the viewer to contemplate nature's fleeting beauty and appreciate the magic that can exist in a single moment. The painting arrives with a thin white floating frame.


About the Artist
Artist Jose Luis Bermudez brings to life natural sceneries with breathtaking detail. His realistic oil paintings invite the viewer into a captivating, serene world of golden sunsets and peaceful wetlands. “I offer a fragment of my existence, where you can escape from daily life, visit beautiful scenes and moments, or simply recall a fond memory,” says Jose Luis. Graduating in 2008 with a BA from the San Alejandro School of Fine Arts in Havana, Cuba, he later shared his expertise as a painting teacher at his alma mater. In 2014, he took the leap and moved to Miami, Florida, seeking better opportunities. The decision did not come easy for Jose Luis to leave his home country. Yet, he encountered career obstacles that made him feel artists lacked the resources and opportunities for broader impact, access to more information, and improved working conditions. These challenges became the catalyst for his bold decision to make the move. Today, he paints in a spacious, well-lit studio, which he keeps clean and organized, always accompanied by piano or instrumental music. When he is not painting, he loves connecting with nature. He travels outside the city to places removed from everyday life, breathing fresh air and listening to self-improvement audio books to charge him with energy and continue.


Words that describe this painting: nature, lake, sunset, sun, water, realism, oilpaint, reflection, large, warm, grass, foliage, woods, evening, nature, realism, oil painting, yellow


Golden Glow...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil

A noble bulldog

A noble bulldog

Located in London, GB

Walter Herbert Wheeler (British, 1868-1960) A noble bulldog signed ‘WH Wheeler (lower right) oil on board 7 ¾ x 7 ¼ in. (19.7 x 18.3 cm.) with frame 10 x 9 ¾ in. (25.4 x 24.8 cm.) ...

Category

Early 1900s Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Board

Let Go 2 - Shirtless Male with Warm Orange Backdrop, Original oil painting
Let Go 2 - Shirtless Male with Warm Orange Backdrop, Original oil painting

Let Go 2 - Shirtless Male with Warm Orange Backdrop, Original oil painting

Located in Chicago, IL

Let Go 1, 2, 3 (Series) In these paintings, Zdrale depicts multiple figures—often iterations of the same man—locked in a cycle of struggle. The ropes that coil around or extend from ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Panel, Oil

“Samsone & Dalila”
“Samsone & Dalila”

“Samsone & Dalila”

By Antonio Balestra

Located in Edinburgh, GB

Antonio Balestra (1666–1740) – "Samson & Delilah" Artist: Antonio Balestra (1666–1740) Title: "Samson & Delilah" Medium: Oil on canvas Framed Dimensions: 147 x 165 cm Can...

Category

17th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Hello Dolly" by Tracy Wall, Original Mixed Media Painting, Horse Portrait
"Hello Dolly" by Tracy Wall, Original Mixed Media Painting, Horse Portrait

"Hello Dolly" by Tracy Wall, Original Mixed Media Painting, Horse Portrait

Located in Denver, CO

Tracy Wall's (Colorado, US based) "Hello Dolly" is an original, handmade, mixed media painting that portrays a white horse in beautiful light with contrasting green foliage. The piece is unframed yet ready to hang with gallery-wrapped canvas. As an artist, Tracy Wall sheds new light on everyday life, inviting the viewer to see the familiar as if for the very first time. Working with a variety of subjects, Tracy paints interesting viewpoints with compelling value, color, and shapes. Appealing compositions are everywhere, and they make strong impressions from afar even before the subject matter is recognized. She loves to balance representational impressions with more abstracted compositions. Tracy has studied at the Art Students League of Denver under such influential artists as Michelle Torrez, Ken Velastro, Kevin Weckbach, John Lencicki, and Rob Gratiot while also participated in additional workshops from Sally Strand, Carol Marine...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Mixed Media

Paternity Realist Painting, Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, 1980s, Unframed
Paternity Realist Painting, Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, 1980s, Unframed

Paternity Realist Painting, Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, 1980s, Unframed

By José Luis Fuentetaja

Located in Sitges, Barcelona

Frameless. Is born in Madrid on the 21st july 1951. After attending primary school, he starts to grow an enormous tendency for drawing. At the age of 14 he begins to work in advertising and attends to the Vallecas school of arts. At the age of 14 he travels to Switzerland and in Geneve he gets intensly into painting and decides to dedicate himself only to it. When he returns to Spain he enrolls Arts Studies, and at the begining of summer '66, he visits Sitges, where he'll come back year after year and where ultimately he'll set his home. At this time he starts selling his painting in the flea market in Madrid and later in Sitges, setting himself on the street, thus completing his studies and making it economically. While he's in Madrid he recives lessons by Pedro Mozas at Bellas Artes and starts to learn profoundly about painting. In 1969 he starts painting portraits in the streets. In Sitges he creates, with other friends, a great artistic atmosphere in the Paseo de la Ribera, by the sea, that today still exists. He starts travelling through Europe, visiting and painting in Paris, London and Amsterdam. In the middle of this bohemian epoque, he moves to the Cannary Islands during the winters for 5 years in a row, he moves in the Parque de Santa Catalina "Las Palmas de Gran Canaria" where he works and meet all sorts of people in the streets, which later would mark his pictoric line. He becomes friend with Sidney Nagley in 1969, who organizes his first exhibition in Toronto, Canada. Afterwards he'll leave his studies and start painting exclusively in his studio. He gathers his first exhibition in the Ateneu of Barcelona in 1970. He befriends with the art critic of La Vanguardia, Fernando Gutierrez and the Count of Caralt orders him a set of illustration for a new edition of Garcia Lorcas Romancero Gitano. His first exhibition in a commercial gallery is done in the Majestic Gallery in Barcelona with a gorgeous collection of nudity drawings. He achieves huge success and for some years he affords his painting thanks to those drawings. During a period in Madrid, Mr Ponce de León, a consul in the Ministry of Exterior Affairs grants him with bachelor degree to study in the prestigious Academia de España in Rome. However, he can't accept it due to militar service obligations. Some days later, before joining the ranks he opens in the Cuatre Gats (Palma de Mallorca) with hiperrealist pieces that already then he presented as the first painter in that city, that later would become a fashion in 1973. After this period he meets José Maria Gudiol who advises positively. Since then, the intense work and the fight for daily improvement that has become the trademark of his life. The seek of styles and situations, the journeys through Europe always aware of all the tendencies that have in the art line that we can see nowadays. At his more than fifty years given to paint, his individual exhibitions beat the 100, his artwork is highly appreciated and valued in the complex market of art. In October 1982 hi makes his first exhibition in Tarragona. In the catalogue, writing of the unforgettable Fernando Gutierrez, he says "Fuentetaja is an artist of character and exceptional upbringing with a masterly knowledge of technique and resourses, and personality completely uncommon to the dimension of his sensitivity, as the richness of his deep and bloomed liricism. A judgement as accurate as foreseeing for the future outstanding of the artist, in where his paint soared through different phases mantaining an unquestionable quality. Lines, cubist, expressionist and hiperrealist till his current realism, in the middle of his creative maturity. Jose Luis Fuentetaja...

Category

1980s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Pulling in the Creel Nets - British Victorian art river landscape oil painting
Pulling in the Creel Nets - British Victorian art river landscape oil painting

Pulling in the Creel Nets - British Victorian art river landscape oil painting

By Frederick Waters Watts

Located in Hagley, England

This lovely British 19th century oil painting is attributed to noted landscape painter Frederick Waters Watts. The composition is painted in great detail with superb use of colour to...

Category

19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Create Yourself
Create Yourself

Create Yourself

Located in Zofingen, AG

This artwork is a striking fusion of vintage and modern elements, featuring a confident, poised woman dominating the foreground. Dressed in a chic leather ensemble with a cap and kn...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Acrylic

I wish I was in Carrickfergus
I wish I was in Carrickfergus

I wish I was in Carrickfergus

Located in Zofingen, AG

Evgeniy loves to listen to the great Jim McCann during the painting sessions and one of the Irish folk songs performed by him, very suitable in terms of lyrics and mood, gave the tit...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Tempera, Wood Panel

"It snowed"
"It snowed"

"It snowed"

Located in Edinburgh, GB

It Snowed Oleksandr Khrapachov, 2016 Canvas, oil 45 × 70 cm --- In this intimate work by Oleksandr Khrapachov, the quiet poetry of the Kyiv suburbs comes to life, where time seem...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Christ Church Library, Oxford College, William Nicholson lithograph 1905

Christ Church Library, Oxford College, William Nicholson lithograph 1905

By William Nicholson

Located in London, GB

To see our other views of Oxford and Cambridge, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this Seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the view you want. William Nicholson (1872-1949) Christ Church Library, Oxford Signed and numbered 34, published by Stafford Gallery with blind stamp Lithograph 26 x 34.5cm Probably best known through his graphic works, as a book designer and illustrator, Nicholson was greatly encouraged in his landscapes by Whistler from about 1900. In 1902-03 he produced a series of watercolour, chalk and pen drawings of Oxford which were published in 1905 by the Stafford Gallery as two portfolios of lithographs, with descriptions by Arthur Waugh – father of Evelyn Waugh...

Category

Early 1900s Realist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Olde World Charm, Original Oil Painting
Olde World Charm, Original Oil Painting

Olde World Charm, Original Oil Painting

By Deb Komitor

Located in Denver, CO

"Olde World Charm" by Deb Komitor (United States) is a handmade landscape oil painting that is ready to hang. Deb Komitor was born and raised in Ohio and now resides in Colorado Sp...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Mountains  1989. Paper, watercolor, 11x21 cm

Mountains 1989. Paper, watercolor, 11x21 cm

By Nikolai Uvarov

Located in Riga, LV

"Mountains" is a watercolor artwork created in 1989 on paper. The dimensions of the artwork are 11x21 cm. The painting focuses on depicting a scene of majestic mountains. Watercolo...

Category

1980s Realist Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

"Nantucket"
"Nantucket"

"Nantucket"

By Paul Crosthwaite

Located in Lambertville, NJ

Signed Lower Left Paul Crosthwaite (1911 - 1981) Paul Crosthwaite was a respected member of the New Hope art community. He was born in Pelham Manor, New York and after studying in architecture for two years decided upon a career as an artist. With that in mind he enrolled in the Art Students League in New York City studying under John Sloan, Raphael Soyer, Yasuo Kunioshi and Morris Kantor. In the mid-thirties he and artist John Sharp...

Category

20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

Winter Begins; Truckee River
Winter Begins; Truckee River

Winter Begins; Truckee River

By Kathleen Dunphy

Located in Pasadena, CA

Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist UNFRAMED: 24" x 48" FRAMED: 32" x 56" x 1.625" Artist Statement "I painted this piece in the studio using studies done along the T...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Linen, Oil

"Glory to Ukraine!"
"Glory to Ukraine!"

"Glory to Ukraine!"

Located in Edinburgh, GB

The painting is written in honor and memory of the hero of Ukraine, Oleksandr Mitsievsky. He was shot by soldiers of the Russian army after they took him prisoner. His last words wer...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Male nudes II, sketch by Keith Vaughan
Male nudes II, sketch by Keith Vaughan

Male nudes II, sketch by Keith Vaughan

Located in London, GB

Keith Vaughan Male nudes II Ballpoint pen sketch 17 x 13 cm Born in 1912, Keith Vaughan was a British painter known for his modernist and semi-abstract depictions of the male fig...

Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Ballpoint Pen

Sea Birds in Surf
Sea Birds in Surf

Sea Birds in Surf

By James Floyd Clymer

Located in Wilton Manors, FL

Beautiful seascape painting by American artist, James Floyd Clymer (1893-1982). Seabirds, ca.1930. Watercolor and pencil on paper measures 14 x 20 inches. Signed lower margin. SHIPS ROLLED. Matting removed. James Floyd Clymer ( 1893-1982 ) known for his Regionalist style of land, sea and cityscapes, created paintings with an emphasis on color and form. His works possess a clear and simple style, easily understood by the masses. Born in Perkasie Pennsylvania, 20 miles north of Philadelphia, Clymer was the youngest of seven children. Losing his mother during childbirth, he was raised by his eldest sister. He attended Drexel University in Philadelphia, studying Art and Architecture and worked as an Architect in the years following World War I. During this time, Clymer met the artist Gwenyth Waugh, daughter of the renowned marine painter, Frederick Judd Waugh. His thrust then changed from Architect to Artist. Together, the couple travelled to destinations such as Spain and Newfoundland, where they gave birth to their only daughter. In the early 1920's, Clymer and family settled in Provincetown, MA and quickly became associated with notable artists such as Helen Sawyer, Edwin Dickinson...

Category

Early 20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor, Rag Paper, Pencil

Silent Serenity, Original Painting
Silent Serenity, Original Painting

Silent Serenity, Original Painting

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A lone cabin rests beside still waters, surrounded by a peaceful winter landscape. The warm colors of the setting sun contrast with the crisp snow, marking th...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Acrylic

Lantern Festival
Lantern Festival

Lantern Festival

By Mian Situ

Located in Pasadena, CA

Provenance Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist. Signed "Mian Situ" on lower left Description The subject of this oil painting by Mian Situ shows a young woman standing poised in a moment of contemplation. The Lantern Festival is a time to remember departed family members. In her deep blue silk robe...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

“Primavera” Oil painting, Poetic Realism, inspired by Sandro Botticelli, 50x87in
“Primavera” Oil painting, Poetic Realism, inspired by Sandro Botticelli, 50x87in

“Primavera” Oil painting, Poetic Realism, inspired by Sandro Botticelli, 50x87in

By Kristy Gordon

Located in Sag Harbor, NY

An oil painting by Kristy Gordon (b. 1980 British Columbia, Canada) "Primavera" (2026), is a monumental canvas that invites the viewer into a world poised between the earthly and t...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

1980s Dreaming Girl Bronze Sculpture, Realist Style, 36x8 cm
1980s Dreaming Girl Bronze Sculpture, Realist Style, 36x8 cm

1980s Dreaming Girl Bronze Sculpture, Realist Style, 36x8 cm

Located in Zofingen, AG

realism, academism manner, vintage collectible sculpture, cast bronze, "I create this sculpture at the very beginning of my career. I sculpted it from a real model. The girl was ver...

Category

1980s Realist Art

Materials

Bronze

Romany Gypsy Caravan At The Round House Wilford Nottingham Watercolor Painting
Romany Gypsy Caravan At The Round House Wilford Nottingham Watercolor Painting

Romany Gypsy Caravan At The Round House Wilford Nottingham Watercolor Painting

Located in Sutton Poyntz, Dorset

Edgar Woollatt. English ( b.1871 - d.1931 ). Romany Gypsy Caravan At The Round House, Clifton Lane, Wilford, Nottingham. Watercolor. Signed Lower Left. Image size 10.8 inches x 20....

Category

Early 20th Century Realist Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

The Flycatcher
The Flycatcher

The Flycatcher

Located in Pasadena, CA

Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist UNFRAMED: 20.5" x 11" FRAMED: 20.5" x 11" x .75" Exhibited Spring into Art 2024, presented by the San Marino League at The Hunting...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

Blue Round Trash Can

Blue Round Trash Can

Located in Columbia, MO

Born in Jefferson City Missouri in 1976 Justin Allen attended Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri where he studied filmmaking before studying painting at the Art Students Leagu...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

View of Monte Tuscany Italian Landscape Artist in Florence oil on panel Framed
View of Monte Tuscany Italian Landscape Artist in Florence oil on panel Framed

View of Monte Tuscany Italian Landscape Artist in Florence oil on panel Framed

By Barbara Castrucci

Located in Houston, TX

Pine Trees in the Summer 16" x 12" is an oil painting done in the style of Realism in the artist studio in Florence, Italy. It has a custom frame made in Florence by a master framer. These are the small landscapes Barbara Castrucci painted near her home in Tuscany. Tuscany is a region in central Italy. Its capital, Florence, is home to some of the world’s most recognizable Renaissance art and architecture, including Michelangelo’s "David" statue, Botticelli’s works in the Uffizi Gallery and the Duomo basilica. Its diverse natural landscape encompasses the rugged Apennine Mountains, the island of Elba’s beaches on the Tyrrhenian Sea and Chianti’s olive groves and vineyards. Bio As the daughter of a sculptor, I had my first encounter with art as a child observing my father draw and sculpt. During my high school years I frequented many of the Florentine workshops and studios which inspired me to become a painter. While still in high school I enrolled in old master painting courses devoting my artistic development to discovering and learning the techniques of the great art of the Flemish, Spanish and Italian masters of the 17th century. After graduating from high school I studied the 19th century academic tradition of drawing and painting with Rebecca Harp, Marc Dalessio and Leo Mancini Hresko...

Category

2010s Realist Art

Materials

Canvas, Wood Panel

Three Pheasants in a Corn Field
Three Pheasants in a Corn Field

Three Pheasants in a Corn Field

Located in Columbia, MO

G. Martin Three Pheasants in Corn Field 2000 Oil on canvas 32 x 42 inches Signed lower right recto

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Oil

"Genre Scene of Children"
"Genre Scene of Children"

"Genre Scene of Children"

Located in Edinburgh, GB

Johann Ferdinand J. Hintze (1849–1877) – Genre Scene of Children Artist: Johann Ferdinand J. Hintze Period: 19th Century (Dated 1874) Medium: Oil on Panel Dimensions: Framed: 42 x 33...

Category

19th Century Realist Art

Materials

Oil, Panel

"Elephant Butte - Monument Valley" Landscape Painting
"Elephant Butte - Monument Valley" Landscape Painting

"Elephant Butte - Monument Valley" Landscape Painting

By David Caton

Located in Houston, TX

Painting of the Elephant Butte rock formation in the Monument Valley of Arizona by David Caton circa 1970s. Artist Biography: David began the study of painting during his high schoo...

Category

1970s Realist Art

Materials

Oil

Florentine singer / - The Renaissance of the Renaissance -
Florentine singer / - The Renaissance of the Renaissance -

Florentine singer / - The Renaissance of the Renaissance -

By Paul Dubois

Located in Berlin, DE

Paul Dubois (1829 Nogent-sur-Seine - 1905 Paris), Florentine singer, 1865. Light brown patinated bronze with cast round plinth mounted on a square marble base (3.5 cm high). Total height 53 cm. Bronze dimensions: 49.5 cm (height) x 20 cm (length) x 10 cm (width), weight 5.6 kg. Inscribed on the plinth "P.[aul] DUBOIS", dated "1865", with the foundry's mark "F. BARBEDIENNE FONDEUR" and the signet "REDUCTION MECANIQUE A. COLLAS". - Patina very occasionally darkened, lute with loss of one tuning peg, otherwise in excellent condition. - The renaissance of the Renaissance - The bronze is a precisely executed and masterfully cast contemporary reduction of Paul Dubois 155 cm tall masterpiece "Florentine Singer", which is exhibited in the Musée d'Orsay and for which the artist was awarded the Medal of Honor at the Paris Salon in 1865. The work acted as a beacon, and was followed by a plethora of depictions of juveniles. Inspired by Donatello and Luca della Robbia, but also by painters such as Piero della Francesca, Benozzo Gozzoli, and Pinturicchio, the "Florentine Singer" is not an epigonal work that pays homage to a vanished era, but a successful attempt to draw vitality from the art of the past and thus give it new life. The effect of vitality is the core of Italian Renaissance art theory. In order to fulfill itself as art, art had to appear like nature. This naturalism also characterizes the "Florentine Singer". The young man appears to have been taken from life, which is reinforced by the momentary nature of his action. He has just struck a now fading chord. In addition, the natural appearance is enhanced by the detailed shaping of the figurative details, such as the laces with the slightly curved leather of the shoes, the belt buckle, or the ornamentation on the body of the lute. Even the fingernails are clearly defined. Unlike the Renaissance, however, the effect of liveliness here is not based on the "discovery" of nature and the human body, but primarily on the rediscovery of the art of the Quattrocento. The liveliness of the artwork is therefore at the same time a revitalization of this art, so that we can speak of a Renaissance of the Renaissance, just as the Pre-Raphaelites in England at the same time transferred the Quattrocento to contemporary art. Dubois takes on the most difficult of all subjects, the depiction of singing through silent sculpture. He was preceded in this by Luca della Robbia and Donatello with their pulpits of singers created in the 1430s in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo in Florence. Compared to these works, the physiognomy of Dubois singer is far less animated, yet he also depicts singing in a convincing manner. He uses the whole body. He takes the ancient contrapposto, which was essential to Renaissance sculpture, and transforms the standing leg-playing posture into a late medieval S-swing, giving the body an elegant beauty and at the same time setting it in melodic motion. In the equally elegant finger position, the music is expressed in a much more literal way with the beating of the lute. Finally, the musicality of the sculpture culminates in the face with the mouth open to sing. Through the act of singing, which is a great challenge to the artistic will to depict perfect beauty, the gracefulness of the classical face is not diminished, but enhanced. Starting from the face with the singing mouth and the gaze absorbed by the sounds, the inner vitality spreads, giving the bronze sculpture an intense aura, enhanced by the music. Dubois transfers the beauty of the Renaissance to the musical, sublimating the visible sculpture to the invisible of music. He took up the challenge of transcending the Renaissance with the Renaissance, thus responding to the Querelle des Anciens et des Modernes, which arose at the end of the 17th century around the French Academy and remained virulent into the 19th century, in which antiquity was regarded either as an unattainable ideal or as a standard to be surpassed. With his work, Dubois proved that the Renaissance, which had championed the art of the ancients, could lead to a new renaissance of art. About the artist Paul Dubois' great-uncle was the famous French Baroque sculptor Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, in whose footsteps the talented great-nephew followed. When he debuted at the Paris Salon in 1858, he signed his work "Dubois-Pigalle". At his father's request, however, he first studied law before devoting himself to sculpture under the tutelage of François Christophe Armand Toussaint in 1856 and entering the École des Beaux-Arts in 1858. From 1859 to 1863, he lived in Rome and traveled to Naples and Florence. Inspired by Florentine art of the quattrocento, Dubois initiated a school-forming neo-Florentine style that combined the elegantly simple forms of youthful grace with a precise wealth of detail.Two purchases by the French state (“envois de Rome”) were made during his stay in Rome, which brought him recognition in Paris. After his return there, he quickly became an internationally sought-after artist. Dubois was also active as a creator of monuments. His most famous work is the equestrian statue of Joan of Arc (1896) on the forecourt of Reims Cathedral. He was also a sought-after portraitist who produced around 50 busts and - Dubois was also a passionate painter - around 100 portraits in oil. From 1873 to 1878 he was curator of the Museum du Luxembourg, in 1876 he became a member of the Institut de France and from 1878 to 1905 he was director of the École des Beaux-Arts. In 1865, Dubois was awarded the Paris Salon Medal of Honor for his “Florentine Singer”. In 1867 he became Chevalier, in 1874 Officier, in 1886 Commandeur of the Légion d'honneur, which awarded Dubois the Grande Croix in 1896. Selected Bibliography Stole, Elmar: Paul Dubois. In: Saur. Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon, vol. 30, Munich - Leipzig 2001, pp. 677-678. GERMAN VERSION Paul Dubois (1829 Nogent-sur-Seine - 1905 Paris), Florentinischer Sänger, 1865. Hellbraun patinierte Bronze mit gegossener runder Plinthe auf quadratischem Marmorsockel montiert (3,5 cm Höhe). Gesamthöhe 53 cm. Maße der Bronze: 49,5 cm (Höhe) x 20 cm (Länge) x 10 cm (Breite), Gewicht 5,6 kg. Auf der Plinthe mit „P.[aul] DUBOIS“ bezeichnet, auf „1865“ datiert, mit dem Gießereistempel „F. BARBEDIENNE FONDEUR“ und dem Signet „REDUCTION MECANIQUE A. COLLAS“ versehen. - Patina sehr vereinzelt nachgedunkelt, Laute mit Verlust eines Stimmwirbels, ansonsten ausgezeichnet erhalten. - Die Renaissance...

Category

1860s Realist Art

Materials

Bronze

Biscuit Before Harvest, Original Painting
Biscuit Before Harvest, Original Painting

Biscuit Before Harvest, Original Painting

By Dwight Smith

Located in San Francisco, CA

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 ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art

Materials

Watercolor

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.