Joaquim Vayreda

Joaquim Vayreda was born in Girona, Spain. His family was originally from Olot but had to move to Girona when their home was destroyed during the First Carlist War. A year after his birth, his parents returned to Olot and attempted to reestablish themselves. His father was fond of drawing and when he saw that his son had artistic talent, set him to work copying drawings. Vayreda’s first art lessons came when he was only nine, at the drawing school in Olot, operated by Narcís Pascual i Sala (1805–1869). In 1860, he went to Barcelona to study philosophy but spent his spare time learning to paint with Ramon Martí Alsina, who introduced him to landscape painting en plein air. Vayreda had his first showing in 1865. The following year, he started to exhibit regularly at the Sala Parés and began to attract customers from the bourgeoisie. He had to live in France briefly, following the Revolution of 1868. There, he became acquainted with the Barbizon school of landscape painting and met Josep Berga i Boix, who would later be his partner in several enterprises. Upon his return, he and his brother Marian would begin to establish what became known as the Olot school. In 1872, Vayreda was appointed Deputy-Mayor of Olot but resigned after only three months due to the outbreak of the Third Carlist War. He went into self-exile in France and remained there until 1877. Three years later, he joined with Josep Berga i Boix and others to create a special workshop for religious images called Els Sants d'Olot. Vayreda also regained his position with the city; serving from 1881–83. From 1891 until his death, he was a Provincial Deputy to the assembly in Manresa and participated in writing the Catalan Regional Constitution. He also contributed political opinion pieces to local periodicals. Vayreda died in Olot, aged 51.

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.

Painting is an art form that has spanned innumerable cultures, with artists using the medium to tell stories, explore and communicate ideas and express themselves. To bring abstract paintings, landscape paintings, still-life paintings and other original paintings into your home is to celebrate and share in the long tradition of this discipline.

When we look at paintings, particularly those that originated in the past, we learn about history, other cultures and countries of the world. Like every other work of art, paintings — whether they are contemporary creations or works that were made during the 19th century — can often help us clearly see and understand the world around us in a meaningful and interesting way.

Cave walls were the canvases for what were arguably the world’s first landscape paintings, which depict natural scenery through art. Portrait paintings and drawings, which, along with sculpture, were how someone’s appearance was recorded prior to the advent of photography, are at least as old as Ancient Egypt. In the Netherlands, landscapes were a major theme for painters as early as the 1500s. Later, artists in Greece, Rome and elsewhere created vast wall paintings to decorate stately homes, churches and tombs.

Today, creating a wall of art is a wonderful way to enhance your space, showcase beautiful pieces and tie an interior design together.

No matter your preference, whether you favor Post-Impressionist paintings, animal paintings, Surrealism, Pop art or another movement or specific period, arranging art on a blank wall allows you to evoke emotions in a room while also showing off your tastes and interests. A symmetrical wall arrangement may comprise a grid of four to six pieces or, for an odd number of works, a horizontal row. Asymmetrical arrangements, which may be small clusters of art or large, salon-style gallery walls, have a more collected and eclectic feel.

Download the 1stDibs app, which includes a handy “View on Wall” feature that allows you to see how a particular artwork will look on a particular wall, and read about how to arrange wall art. And if you’re searching for the perfect palette for your interior design project, what better place to turn than to the art world’s masters of color? 

On 1stDibs, you’ll find an expansive collection of paintings and other fine art for your home or office. Browse abstract paintings, portrait paintings, paintings by emerging artists and more today.