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
18th Century Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
1990s Realist Art
Gouache
Late 20th Century Realist Art
Oil
2010s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
1980s Realist Art
Paper, Watercolor
1930s Realist Art
Oil
Late 19th Century Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Watercolor, Archival Paper
2010s Realist Art
Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
1990s Realist Art
Etching
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Oil
2010s Realist Art
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
1930s Realist Art
Adhesive, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
1890s Realist Art
Bronze
2010s Realist Art
Cotton Canvas, Oil
1680s Realist Art
Paper, Ink, Woodcut
1960s Realist Art
Lambda
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Paper, Pencil, Graphite
1970s Realist Art
Paper, Ink
1930s Realist Art
Oil Pastel
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Oil
1930s Realist Art
Gouache
2010s Realist Art
Oil, Canvas
Artist Comments
Barns stand as a sanctuary for many farms across America. In this painting, a lit lantern in a high window of the structure acts as a guiding light under the ...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Watercolor
1890s Realist Art
Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Acrylic, Canvas
Early 20th Century Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Art
Acrylic, Board
2010s Realist Art
Linen, Oil
19th Century Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Oil Crayon
Mid-19th Century Realist Art
Engraving
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Linen, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Oil, Panel
2010s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Realist Art
Charcoal
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Mixed Media, Archival Paper, Screen
1840s Realist Art
Lithograph
19th Century Realist Art
Etching
1840s Realist Art
Bronze
20th Century Realist Art
Etching
Late 19th Century Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
17th Century Realist Art
Engraving
1960s Realist Art
Lithograph, Offset
2010s Realist Art
Oil
1970s Realist Art
Watercolor
2010s Realist Art
Oil, Panel
1980s Realist Art
Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Linen, Oil
Early 2000s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
1930s Realist Art
Gouache
2010s Realist Art
Wood, Oil
2010s Realist Art
Oil, Panel
2010s Realist Art
Oil, Canvas
2010s Realist Art
Linen, Oil
Artist Comments
Inspired by a twilight he witnessed, artist Jose Luis Bermudez captures the setting sun on a natural landscape. Bathed in su...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Oil