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
Artist Jesse Aldana presents a peaceful grassland with a well-trodden path leading inward. Inspired by two early morning spring hikes—the background comes f...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Oil
1960s Realist Art
Lambda
1910s Realist Art
Linen, Oil
1970s Realist Art
Canvas, Linen, Cotton Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Realist Art
Oil, Canvas
2010s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
19th Century Realist Art
Oil
2010s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
1990s Realist Art
Canvas, Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Lambda
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Oil, Panel
Artist Comments
Three juicy cherries line up on a table, with the light enhancing their luminous and vibrant color. The sharp and detailed rendition of the fruit imparts a re...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Oil
2010s Realist Art
Oil, Panel
1950s Realist Art
Lambda
2010s Realist Art
Oil
Late 20th Century Realist Art
Oil
Early 1900s Realist Art
Gouache
1970s Realist Art
Silver Gelatin
2010s Realist Art
Emulsion, Watercolor, Etching, Lithograph, Paper
2010s Realist Art
Oil
2010s Realist Art
Oil, Panel
2010s Realist Art
Gold Leaf
1960s Realist Art
Lambda
1990s Realist Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Linen, Acrylic
2010s Realist Art
Egg Tempera, Panel
Late 19th Century Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Handmade Paper, Giclée
2010s Realist Art
Paper, Watercolor
Artist Comments
A small house stands alone on the vast Utah prairie, once home to a hardworking homesteading family. The laughter and gospel songs that once echoed inside have ...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Acrylic
1980s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
19th Century Realist Art
Oil
1990s Realist Art
Color Pencil
1990s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Realist Art
Oil, Panel
2010s Realist Art
Oil
1880s Realist Art
Gold Leaf
1970s Realist Art
Silver Gelatin
1970s Realist Art
Watercolor, Archival Paper
Artist Comments
A banjo rests on a sunlit step beside a glass of wine and a bouquet of flowers. A weathered wooden door and cracked wall behind it add rustic charm. Rich, class...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Oil
2010s Realist Art
Glass, Blown Glass
2010s Realist Art
Oil, Canvas
1990s Realist Art
Oil
1860s Realist Art
Bronze
2010s Realist Art
Paper, Watercolor
1920s Realist Art
Gouache
2010s Realist Art
Oil
1980s Realist Art
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil
1960s Realist Art
Lambda
Artist Comments
An enormous wave crashes against a buttress of weathered stone. It signals a storm brewing in the cold ocean depths despite the cloudless, calm sky. The winds...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Canvas, Oil, Masonite
Mid-19th Century Realist Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Oil
Early 1900s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
Early 2000s Realist Art
Bronze
Early 20th Century Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
1980s Realist Art
Offset
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Lambda
2010s Realist Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
1990s Realist Art
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache, Board
Early 2000s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
1890s Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
1990s Realist Art
Oil, Wood Panel
2010s Realist Art
Oil, Panel
2010s Realist Art
Paper, Crayon
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Art
Pastel