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Realist Paintings

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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.

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Style: Realist
Melancholia
Melancholia

Melancholia

By Irina Trushkova

Located in Zofingen, AG

Against a deep, shadowy background, a single cluster of pale blue hydrangea rests gracefully within a simple glass vessel. On one hand, we witness the flawless, almost mathematical g...

Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of a Young Girl in a Striped Dress, c. 1895-1905.
Portrait of a Young Girl in a Striped Dress, c. 1895-1905.

Portrait of a Young Girl in a Striped Dress, c. 1895-1905.

Located in Stockholm, SE

Paul Fischer (1860–1934) Denmark Portrait of a Young Girl in a Striped Dress, c. 1895-1905.  signed lower right “Paul Fischer” oil on canvas unframed 34 × 23 cm (13.4 × 9.1 in...

Category

1890s Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Landscape
Landscape

Landscape

Located in Edinburgh, GB

"Landscape" (1966) by Mykola Artemovych Pavlyuk 🌲 This artwork is an oil on canvas landscape painting that captures a serene, sun-drenched forest scene: • Subject: A dirt path gentl...

Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Landscape with a Road in the Kyiv Region, Landscape Painting, Oil on Canvas
Landscape with a Road in the Kyiv Region, Landscape Painting, Oil on Canvas

Landscape with a Road in the Kyiv Region, Landscape Painting, Oil on Canvas

Located in Edinburgh, GB

Ukrainian artist, painter. Born in 1924 in Lustdorf (Chornomorka), a suburb of Odesa. From 1940 to 1947 he studied at the Odesa Art School under A. Postel, I. Hurskyi and D. Krainev....

Category

Late 20th Century Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The Pursuit, Roe Deer and Hound in a Winter Landscape, 19th Century
The Pursuit, Roe Deer and Hound in a Winter Landscape, 19th Century

The Pursuit, Roe Deer and Hound in a Winter Landscape, 19th Century

Located in Genève, GE

The painting is unsigned on the front. An old handwritten inscription on the upper stretcher identifies the artist as Steinbach and appears to include the words “in München” (Munich). The artist’s precise identity remains to be established, and the work is therefore catalogued conservatively under the name Steinbach. This atmospheric 19th-century painting depicts two roe deer fleeing across a wintry landscape, closely followed by a hound. The movement of the animals brings a vivid narrative quality to the scene: a young buck, recognizable by his small antlers, turns alertly as he runs beside a second deer, while the pursuing dog emerges from the snowy terrain behind them. The artist combines careful observation of wildlife with a sensitive treatment of the surrounding landscape. Snow lightly covers the uneven ground and branches of the tall fir trees, while the distant woodland gradually dissolves into the misty horizon. Above, a softly illuminated sky in subtle shades of grey, pale gold and rose creates a striking contrast with the darker forest. Characteristic of 19th-century Romantic and Naturalist animal painting, the work combines dramatic movement with an evocative vision of nature. The restrained winter palette, atmospheric depth and animated wildlife give the composition both decorative appeal and a compelling sense of narrative. 19th century wildlife painting, roe deer painting, deer and hound painting, hound chasing deer, hunting scene painting, deer hunt painting, winter hunting scene, winter landscape painting, snowy forest painting, roe buck painting, European wildlife painting, Romantic landscape painting, Romantic wildlife art, Naturalist painting, antique animal painting...

Category

1860s Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

A Sunny Day
A Sunny Day

A Sunny Day

Located in Edinburgh, GB

The painting depicts a clear, sunny day. Bright sunlight illuminates a dazzlingly white house. The blue sky contrasts with the silhouette of the white stone house. In the foreground ...

Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Two Hummingbirds with Floral
Two Hummingbirds with Floral

Two Hummingbirds with Floral

By Mary Kay West

Located in Pasadena, CA

Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist Signed: Center Back FRAMED/UNFRAMED: 24" x 24" x .5' Artist Statement "The pursuit of realism is not merely a technical exercise,...

Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Enjoing a summer day
Enjoing a summer day

Enjoing a summer day

By Irina Trushkova

Located in Zofingen, AG

The composition is centered around a harmonious group of white porcelain vessels, united into a single luminous shape. Against this quiet white mass, the vivid cherries seem to come...

Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Cherry Pie
Cherry Pie

Cherry Pie

Located in Edinburgh, GB

Sensual acrylic painting for those who recognize no limits. She lay perfectly still, as though the painting itself had been born from silence and a warm half-dream. On her skin, whe...

Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Contemporary Dessert Painting by Michael Budden Eclairs
Contemporary Dessert Painting by Michael Budden Eclairs

Contemporary Dessert Painting by Michael Budden Eclairs

By Michael Budden

Located in Chesterfield, NJ

Eclairs Image is 6 x 8 unframed, 11.5 x 13.5 framed. Signed LR An oil painting on canvas by award winning contemporary artist Michael Budden that showcases a pair of eclairs. This is...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Acrylic

Pocket Red Apple-original still life oil painting - contemporary realism artwork
Pocket Red Apple-original still life oil painting - contemporary realism artwork

Pocket Red Apple-original still life oil painting - contemporary realism artwork

By Dani Humberstone

Located in London, Chelsea

We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs and import taxes for this artwork. This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet C...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Seagulls, Realist Landscape Painting, Oil on Cardboard, 2020
Seagulls, Realist Landscape Painting, Oil on Cardboard, 2020

Seagulls, Realist Landscape Painting, Oil on Cardboard, 2020

Located in Edinburgh, GB

A panoramic seascape depicting dark, mossy rocks surrounded by swirling, foamy waves. White seagulls perch on the rugged cliffs and glide through the air. Rendered with rich impasto ...

Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil

“Umbracious” Colorful Blue and Yellow Architectural Painting of a New Orleans
“Umbracious” Colorful Blue and Yellow Architectural Painting of a New Orleans

“Umbracious” Colorful Blue and Yellow Architectural Painting of a New Orleans

Located in Houston, TX

Colorful blue and yellow architectural painting by renowned New Orleans based artist James Michalopoulos. Signed in the front lower left corner. Signed, titled, and dated on the reverse. Currently hung in a light wood frame. Dimensions Without Frame: H 28 in. x W 22 in. Artist Biography: James Michalopoulos began his journey in 1951, the son of a prominent modernist architect father whose designs helped reshape downtown Pittsburgh. One of six children, he was raised in a home full of art, including paintings by his uncle, the influential Abstract Expressionist painter William Baziotes. Despite the early artistic influences, Michalopoulos was drawn to science and economics and imagined a career in one of these fields. After graduation from Bowdoin College in 1974, he spent his postgraduate years consumed by work in the cooperative movement. He managed the Boston Food Coop and then founded and managed the Cambridge Cooperative, which became America’s largest storefront coop. Upon leaving the coop movement, he began his winding route to New Orleans by way of Washington, DC. While on the road, he began to sketch to fill the free time. A flirtation with art became an affair. Then a marriage. A strictly plein air painter, Michalopoulos was challenged to find a winter locale to continue his work. In 1979, he was drawn to New Orleans as the last bastion of hippie bohemian culture in America. The city and its “Culture of Celebration” held an intense appeal. He began sketching artists and musicians, houses and street corners. Fascinated with the duality of beauty and decay, the architecture of the city became his muse. His portraits of shotgun houses and Creole cottages, depicted in layer upon layer of thick impasto paint, brimmed with color and energy and captured the essence of his subject. This body of work established him as the most influential living artist in the region today. James worked as the Art Director for the House of Blues Productions for six years. Additionally, he art directed NBC’s “In Concert” series and the Nice Jazz Festival. His sets for the House of Blues have been called some of the most influential stage sets ever designed for televised music. During this time, he developed an abiding interest in musical imagery. His portraits represent all segments of the musical stratosphere and have been featured on the coveted New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival poster seven times, more than any other artist in the festival’s history. In the early years, his atelier printed the posters using a remarkable 36-screen hand-pulled process. In the early 1990s he maintained a studio in Lausanne, Switzerland and exhibited both there and in Geneva, London, and Berlin. During a trip to France in 1990, he fell in love with Provence and the Burgundy region and bought a home near Cluny. Today he divides his time between New Orleans and Burgundy. The French countryside—with its Roman era stone buildings and verdant fields—has become a large focus of his work. Not long after, he transformed a 150-year-old cotton gin into the first rum distillery in the continental US since prohibition, Celebration Distillation, which created the award-winning line of Old New Orleans Rum and Gingeroo. In Covington, Louisiana, he was an early force in the redevelopment of the historic downtown area, founding restaurant Etoile. After Katrina, Michalopoulos acquired the Old Union Brewery and converted it into the North Robertson Artist...

Category

1990s Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

New York City Winter Oil Painting Fifth Avenue Flags St Patricks Michael Budden
New York City Winter Oil Painting Fifth Avenue Flags St Patricks Michael Budden

New York City Winter Oil Painting Fifth Avenue Flags St Patricks Michael Budden

By Michael Budden

Located in Chesterfield, NJ

Winter On Fifth Avenue, St Patrick's, Flags 24 x 18 unframed. and 30.25 x 24.5 framed signed LL Winter On Fifth Avenue, St Patrick's, Flags is an oil painting on linen by award winn...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Pacific Sunset Waves, Contemporary Cyanotype on Paper, Navy Blue, Beach House
Pacific Sunset Waves, Contemporary Cyanotype on Paper, Navy Blue, Beach House

Pacific Sunset Waves, Contemporary Cyanotype on Paper, Navy Blue, Beach House

By Kind of Cyan

Located in Barcelona, ES

This is an exclusive handprinted limited edition cyanotype. "Pacific Sunset Waves" is an original cyanotype that abstractly shows the sunset reflections on the sea. Details: + Titl...

Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Emulsion, Mixed Media, Watercolor, Photographic Paper, Lithograph, Monop...

Seascape - Sunlit Waves Crashing against the Rocks on the British Isles
Seascape - Sunlit Waves Crashing against the Rocks on the British Isles

Seascape - Sunlit Waves Crashing against the Rocks on the British Isles

Located in Preston, GB

Seascape - Sunlit Waves Crashing against the Rocks on the British Isles Art measures 32 x 24 inches Frame measures 36 x 28 inches A commanding seascape where light wrestles with wa...

Category

1980s Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

British Chalk Pencil Sketch of A Bull Lying Down
British Chalk Pencil Sketch of A Bull Lying Down

British Chalk Pencil Sketch of A Bull Lying Down

By John Rabone Harvey

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

John Rabone Harvey ( 1966 - 1922) graphic and chalk deep green artist paper , unframed artist paper : 5.5 x 7 inches Provenance: private collection Condition: very good condition Ha...

Category

Mid-19th Century Realist Paintings

Materials

Chalk, Graphite

Classical Flower Bouquet Oil Painting, 19th Century Floral Still Life
Classical Flower Bouquet Oil Painting, 19th Century Floral Still Life

Classical Flower Bouquet Oil Painting, 19th Century Floral Still Life

Located in Genève, GE

Dimensions with frame: 55 x 47,5 x 5,5 cm This evocative antique floral still life oil painting depicts a lush bouquet of roses and wildflowers arranged in a delicate porcelain vase...

Category

Late 19th Century Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Cardboard

Oil Painting of Horses & Farmer in the English Countryside by British Artist
Oil Painting of Horses & Farmer in the English Countryside by British Artist

Oil Painting of Horses & Farmer in the English Countryside by British Artist

By James Wright

Located in Preston, GB

Oil Painting of Horses & Farmer in the English Countryside by 20th Century Modern British Artist, James Wright Art measures 24 x 18 inches Frame measures 29 x 23 inches Pres...

Category

Late 20th Century Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil

A seascape with waves III
A seascape with waves III

A seascape with waves III

By Serghei Ghetiu

Located in Zofingen, AG

In this painting, I poured my passion into capturing the relentless energy and beauty of the sea. The waves’ movement and light play embody both power and serenity, inviting you to f...

Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Boy From Hood - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Hyperealism, Africa
Boy From Hood - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Hyperealism, Africa

Boy From Hood - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Hyperealism, Africa

By Falope Ibrahim

Located in Ibadan, Oyo

Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. About Artist Fal...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

19th-century Antique Genovese Sailor portrait painting
19th-century Antique Genovese Sailor portrait painting

19th-century Antique Genovese Sailor portrait painting

Located in Wilton Manors, FL

Portrait of a Genovese Sailor, ca. 1890. Watercolor on cardboard measuring 4 x 5.5 inches; 9 x 11 inches framed.

Category

1890s Realist Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

"Portrait of a Woman"
"Portrait of a Woman"

"Portrait of a Woman"

Located in Edinburgh, GB

"Portrait of a Woman" by Yuriy Lyamin is a captivating artwork that beautifully explores the soft essence of the female form. Rather than focusing on strict realistic details, the ar...

Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Table top bottles still life painting
Table top bottles still life painting

Table top bottles still life painting

By Giorgio Morandi

Located in Wilton Manors, FL

Beautiful Italian Still Life painting by unknown artist in the style of Giorgio Morandi. Oil on panel, measuring 16 1/8 x 22 inches. ca. 1960s Artist board and fixtures are Italian.

Category

Mid-20th Century Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Pomegranates
Pomegranates

Pomegranates

By Irina Trushkova

Located in Zofingen, AG

The serene ceramic jar anchors the composition, creating a quiet dialogue between matte surfaces and glossy fruit. The carefully draped striped tablecloth introduces rhythm and movem...

Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Pocket Pear - original still life oil painting - contemporary realism artwork
Pocket Pear - original still life oil painting - contemporary realism artwork

Pocket Pear - original still life oil painting - contemporary realism artwork

By Dani Humberstone

Located in London, Chelsea

Gallery service: Complimentary worldwide shipping is offered, with Signet Contemporary Art covering all tariffs, customs duties and import taxes, making international collecting simp...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Moment of Serenity
Moment of Serenity

Moment of Serenity

By Anzhelika Muzychenko

Located in Zofingen, AG

From the series «Summer Memories “ This painting captures the serene setting of a pool at a villa in the Tuscan region of Italy. The tranquil blue water reflects the surrounding lan...

Category

2010s Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Western Light-original modern landscape abstract oil painting-contemporary Art
Western Light-original modern landscape abstract oil painting-contemporary Art

Western Light-original modern landscape abstract oil painting-contemporary Art

By Kate Salenfriend

Located in London, Chelsea

This exceptional artwork is currently on display and available for sale at Signet Contemporary Art Gallery and online. We offer complimentary worldwide shipping and cover all tariffs...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Fire Starter" Oil Painting by Karen Offut, Male Portrait
"Fire Starter" Oil Painting by Karen Offut, Male Portrait

"Fire Starter" Oil Painting by Karen Offut, Male Portrait

By Karen Offutt

Located in Denver, CO

Karen Offutt's (US based) "Fire Starter" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a male portrait with his face in profile wearing a fur coat in a cold winter landscape. Th...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Realist paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Realist paintings 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 paintings 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 Michael Budden, Su Yu, Olga Antonova, and Mark Hunter. 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 paintings, so small editions measuring 0.5 inches across are also available.