Roberto Bompiani
Mid-19th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 1900s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Archival Paper
People Also Browsed
Early 20th Century European Art Nouveau Vases
Bronze
Antique Late 19th Century European Moorish Architectural Elements
Wrought Iron
Vintage 1980s Italian Art Nouveau Sterling Silver
Sterling Silver
Antique 19th Century French Napoleon III Stairs
Walnut
Early 20th Century Italian Rococo Bird Cages
Metal
1990s Impressionist Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Antique Early 1800s English Georgian Beds and Bed Frames
Upholstery, Mahogany
Antique 18th Century English Neoclassical Console Tables
Alabaster, Marble, Gold Leaf
17th Century Old Masters Landscape Paintings
Oil
20th Century French Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Enamel, Gold
18th Century Old Masters Landscape Paintings
Oil, Canvas
Late 19th Century Hudson River School Landscape Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Antique 1890s Italian Paintings
Canvas, Giltwood
Antique 19th Century Unknown Empire Cabinets
Mahogany
Early 19th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings
Oil
Early 20th Century Danish Art Deco Sofas
Jute, Muslin, Upholstery, Mahogany
A Close Look at 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.
Find authentic realist paintings, sculptures, prints and more art on 1stDibs.