Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
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.
1880s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Chalk
1890s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Pencil
Late 20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Handmade Paper, Watercolor
1860s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
1930s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Late 20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Gouache, Handmade Paper
Late 20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Handmade Paper, Watercolor
1990s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pen, India Ink
2010s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor, Pen
1890s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Ink
Mid-20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Pencil
Late 20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Handmade Paper
1950s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Charcoal
1950s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
1980s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Gouache
1990s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pencil
1870s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Archival Paper, Watercolor, Gouache
Late 20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Paper
1980s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Pastel
Mid-19th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
1950s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Paper, Lithograph
Early 20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Paint, Board
Early 20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Gouache
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Archival Paper
Early 2000s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Watercolor, Pen
1930s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Early 20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Late 19th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Ink
Mid-20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Gouache, Pen, Graphite
2010s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ballpoint Pen, Graphite
Mid-20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Late 20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Paper, India Ink
1930s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Conté, Handmade Paper
1890s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Late 19th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Early 1900s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Pastel, Gouache
Late 19th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Late 19th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Graphite
Mid-20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Oil, Watercolor
1920s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Ink
1870s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
1960s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Graphite
1960s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Chalk
Late 20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
1940s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache
Late 20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
1920s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Ink
1920s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
18th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Watercolor, Laid Paper, Pen
Early 19th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Handmade Paper, Graphite
Early 20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Watercolor
20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pencil
2010s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Color Pencil, Pigment, Paper, Ink, Acrylic, Watercolor
Early 20th Century Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Chalk
Early 1800s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Graphite, Ink
1980s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pencil