Realist Figurative Paintings
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.
Find authentic realist paintings, sculptures, prints and more art on 1stDibs.
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Style: Realist
"Chat 34" Trompe L'oeil Original Oil Painting of a Cat
By Marina Dieul
Located in Denver, CO
Marina Dieul's "Chat 34, 2023" is a captivating handmade original oil on panel artwork that plays with the viewer's perception through trompe l'oeil, a technique that creates the opt...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
La Marchande de Fleurs - French Realist Figurative Oil by Victor Gilbert
Located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Signed figurative oil on original canvas by French realist painter Victor Gabriel Gilbert. The work shows a flower seller filling a young girl's basket with cherries while a little b...
Category
1910s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
CONTEMPORARY Architecture Spanish Artist Bea Sarrias 2023 Charles and Ray Eames
Located in BARCELONA, ES
DREAM STAIRS (CHARLES AND RAY EAMES)
70X50 CM
ACRYLIC ON LINEN
The artist, Bea Sarrias, has developed much of her work in Barcelona, where she studied Fine Arts and soon became inte...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Linen
CONTEMPORARY Architecture Landscapes British Artist Anthony Garratt
Located in BARCELONA, ES
Anthony Garratt was born in 1979, He lives in South Devon with his young family, and currently works from his studio on the Dartington Estate. He studied at Chelsea College of Art for a Foundation (Dip), and a BA (hons) at Falmouth College of Art.
He has exhibited extensively in public and commercial galleries, including 18 solo shows to date. His paintings are held in private and corporate collections internationally.
His eclectic, self-initiated public installations have garnered much National press interest. In 2016, ‘High and Low’ which was commissioned in Snowdonia to communicate the area’s mining heritage, won the ‘Arts and Business Award’ in Wales and featured on National television. ‘To All At Sea’ from 2019 featured in both The Guardian and The Spectator as a ‘Top Ten Outdoor Artwork 2019’. His recent public participation artworks have encouraged hundreds of people to engage with the practice of painting, whilst raising thousands for associated charitable causes.
In 2019, following an artist residency with a photographer in South Africa, he established a collaborative project called, ‘Cawston Garratt’, which launched in London and combines, and interrupts, the processes of painting and photography.
Since 2014, he has been a tutor and mentor at The Newlyn School of Art, both on short courses and year-long professional practice programmes. He is a member of the Wilderness Art...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
The Mediterranean girl II
Located in Sempach, LU
In this oil painting, I've poured my soul into capturing the timeless grace of a moment steeped in sunlight and shadows. Her gaze, a silent conversation with the viewer, is filled wi...
Category
17th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Copper - Bath nude portraiture artwork realism oil painting modern human form
By Calvin Lai
Located in London, Chelsea
Contemporary figurative artist Calvin Lai paints a provocative and sensual portrait of the female form in this original oil painting. The artist applies a symphony of gestural brushs...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Souris 35" Original Oil Painting
By Marina Dieul
Located in Denver, CO
Marina Dieul's "Souris 35, 2023" is a primary market, handmade original oil on panel artwork, notable for its trompe l'oeil technique that seamlessly blends the painting with the act...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Panel, Oil
Armenian Contemporary Art by Kamsar Ohanyan - Waterfall
Located in Paris, IDF
Oil on canvas
Kamsar Ohanyan is an Armenian artist born in 1991 who lives and works in Yerevan, Armenia. He studied in Yerevan at State Pedagogical University with Kh. Abovyan at th...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Pear branch laden with ripe fruits on a golden background
Located in Milan, IT
Margherita Leoni's small and precious painting presents all the fullness of thriving nature offering its fruits. As in sacred art, gold has always evoked the divine, the choice of th...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Gold
18th Century Portrait, Major Alexander Brown in Military Uniform
By Sir David Wilkie
Located in Cotignac, FR
18th Century Military portrait of a young officer in Napoleonic period military dress. The painting is not signed but the subject is Major Alexander Brown. The work is oil on canvas later mounted on board and presented in a fine 'Regence style' carved gilt frame. There are labels to the back referring to the subject, 'Major Brown of Trinity' and a framers trade label from Edinburgh.
A magnificent and imposing portrait of a young military officer in the prime of his life. His red uniform adorned with fine buttons, fringed epaulettes and high gilt collar. His ruddy complexion offset by his stylish hair, a quiff and swept forward to the sides as was the fashion at the time.
Sir David Wilkie RA (18 November 1785 – 1 June 1841) was a Scottish painter, especially known for his portraits, including formal royal ones, and scenes from his travels to Europe and the Middle East. He painted successfully in a wide variety of genres, including historical scenes. His main base was in London, but he died and was buried at sea, off Gibraltar, returning from his first trip to the Middle East. He was sometimes known as the "people's painter".
He was Principal Painter in Ordinary to King William IV and Queen Victoria. Apart from royal portraits, his best-known painting today is probably The Chelsea Pensioners Reading the Waterloo Dispatch of 1822 in Apsley House.
Sir David Wilkie was actually admitted in 1799 (despite only being 14) through the influence of the Earl of Leven...
Category
Late 18th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil, Board
Nabi - Modern portraiture artwork realism oil painting modern human form
By Calvin Lai
Located in London, Chelsea
This contemporary figurative study by Calvin Lai depicts an intimate portrait of a nude embellished with abstract gestures. Meaning ‘butterfly’ in Korean, Nabi presents a delicate po...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Realist Portrait, Mid-Century Oil On Card, The Babushka.
Located in Cotignac, FR
Mid-Century realist oil on card of a peasant woman, dated 1963 to the reverse. Artist unknown. Presented in gilt and painted wood frame under glass.
A charming, grounded painting of...
Category
Mid-20th Century Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Cardboard, Oil
"The Gunnison Sage-Grouse" Original Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Lindsey Kustusch's "The Gunnison Sage-Grouse" is a vibrant and textured handmade original oil on wood panel artwork, with dimensions of 18 x 18 x 1.50 inches. Created in 2023, this p...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Wood Panel, Oil
Realist french painting Fishermen wifes BILLET portrait costumes 19th
Located in PARIS, FR
Pierre BILLET
Cantin (North), 1837 – Cantin, 1922
Oil on canvas
38.5 x 28.5 cm (48 x 36.5 cm with frame)
Signed lower left “Pierre Billet”
Stamp of the canvas merchant "Tasset & Loth...
Category
1880s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
"Penguins" Oil Painting
By Derek Penix
Located in Denver, CO
Derek Penix's (US based) "Penguins" is an oil painting that depicts a huddle of penguins flocking gently together at water's edge.
Bio/Artist Statement:
Derek Penix was born on December 29, 1980 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Growing up Penix was surrounded by artists in his family as his mother and grandfather painted. Penix did not pursue painting until after graduating high school. Penix’s mother encouraged him to pursue his talent and took his paintings down to a local gallery where he sold his first piece.
Through the years Penix has been inspired by old masters such as Nicolai Fechin, Sargent and the French Impressionists, but it has been over the last few years that Penix has been the most influenced by artist Quang Ho. Penix had the opportunity to take a workshop under Mr. Ho and later to study briefly with him. Since then, Penix believes his paintings have grown more in the last two years than in his last ten years of painting.
As an artist Penix gains inspiration from his environment whether that be at the park, in his home, or traveling abroad. He enjoys the freedom to paint different subject matter and has learned to push himself to try new things, even if they are out of his comfort zone.
Penix was recognized in South West Art...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Panel, Oil
Ciel d'été, Original Oil Painting, Landscape, Tree, Ready to hang
Located in AIX-EN-PROVENCE, FR
Work : Original Oil Painting, Handmade Artwork, Unique Work. Ready to Hang with two studs.
Medium : Oil on mounted linen on wood.
Artist : Gabriel Riesnert
Subject : Ciel d'été (Tit...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel, Linen
"Chaton 44" Original Oil Painting
By Marina Dieul
Located in Denver, CO
Marina Dieul's "Chaton 44, 2023" is an exquisite handmade original oil on panel artwork, measuring 4 x 4 x 1 inches, that comes directly from the artist's studio. This piece is a pri...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Panel, Oil
CONTEMPORARY Architecture Landscapes British Artist Anthony Garratt
Located in BARCELONA, ES
Anthony Garratt was born in 1979, He lives in South Devon with his young family, and currently works from his studio on the Dartington Estate. He studied at Chelsea College of Art for a Foundation (Dip), and a BA (hons) at Falmouth College of Art.
He has exhibited extensively in public and commercial galleries, including 18 solo shows to date. His paintings are held in private and corporate collections internationally.
His eclectic, self-initiated public installations have garnered much National press interest. In 2016, ‘High and Low’ which was commissioned in Snowdonia to communicate the area’s mining heritage, won the ‘Arts and Business Award’ in Wales and featured on National television. ‘To All At Sea’ from 2019 featured in both The Guardian and The Spectator as a ‘Top Ten Outdoor Artwork 2019’. His recent public participation artworks have encouraged hundreds of people to engage with the practice of painting, whilst raising thousands for associated charitable causes.
In 2019, following an artist residency with a photographer in South Africa, he established a collaborative project called, ‘Cawston Garratt’, which launched in London and combines, and interrupts, the processes of painting and photography.
Since 2014, he has been a tutor and mentor at The Newlyn School of Art, both on short courses and year-long professional practice programmes. He is a member of the Wilderness Art...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic, Oil
CONTEMPORARY Architecture Landscapes British Artist Anthony Garratt
Located in BARCELONA, ES
Anthony Garratt was born in 1979, He lives in South Devon with his young family, and currently works from his studio on the Dartington Estate. He studied at Chelsea College of Art for a Foundation (Dip), and a BA (hons) at Falmouth College of Art.
He has exhibited extensively in public and commercial galleries, including 18 solo shows to date. His paintings are held in private and corporate collections internationally.
His eclectic, self-initiated public installations have garnered much National press interest. In 2016, ‘High and Low’ which was commissioned in Snowdonia to communicate the area’s mining heritage, won the ‘Arts and Business Award’ in Wales and featured on National television. ‘To All At Sea’ from 2019 featured in both The Guardian and The Spectator as a ‘Top Ten Outdoor Artwork 2019’. His recent public participation artworks have encouraged hundreds of people to engage with the practice of painting, whilst raising thousands for associated charitable causes.
In 2019, following an artist residency with a photographer in South Africa, he established a collaborative project called, ‘Cawston Garratt’, which launched in London and combines, and interrupts, the processes of painting and photography.
Since 2014, he has been a tutor and mentor at The Newlyn School of Art, both on short courses and year-long professional practice programmes. He is a member of the Wilderness Art...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
Tuareg
Located in Barcelona, ES
Figurative work of a tuareg man
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Pureza
Located in Barcelona, ES
Figurative work
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
"Bonding Time - Norton Simon Museum'", Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Alexander Chistov's "Bonding Time - Norton Simon Museum" is an original, handmade oil painting depicting the artist with his son admiring a historical painting within a museum.
Ar...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Panel, Oil
Verónica
Located in Barcelona, ES
Figurative work
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Toro al amanecer
Located in Barcelona, ES
Figurative work
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
The Blind Woman
Located in Dallas, TX
"The Blind Woman" by artist Miles Cleveland Goodwin is oil on canvas, and measures 72 5/8 x 44 5/8 inches. Including the artist-made frame, the overall dimensions are 74 1/8 x 46 1/8...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Canvas
"Andalusian Heartland" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Daud Akhriev's (EUR and US based) "Andalusion Heartland" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts rolling hills spreading over the landscape with an orchard in the foregrou...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Board
Antonio
Located in Barcelona, ES
Figurative work
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Toro de nimes
Located in Barcelona, ES
Figurative work
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Recordando a Charlie
Located in Barcelona, ES
Figurative work
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
"Nude, " Arnold Blanch, Woodstock School, WPA, Figurative
Located in New York, NY
Arnold Blanch
Nude
Signed lower right
Oil on board
20 x 16 inches
Provenance:
G. David Thompson Collection, Pittsburgh
Private Collection, New York
Bo...
Category
1930s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Board, Oil
Fumador hindú
Located in Barcelona, ES
Figurative work of a Hindu smoking
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Relajada
Located in Barcelona, ES
Figurative work of a naked and relaxed woman
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Elegancia (Manolete)
Located in Barcelona, ES
Figurative work of a bullfighter
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Mixed Media
Estética (A. Gades)
Located in Barcelona, ES
Figurative work
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Fumador
Located in Barcelona, ES
Figurative work of a man smoking
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
La muerte tenía un precio
Located in Barcelona, ES
Figurative work
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Brindis a la monumental
Located in Barcelona, ES
Figurative work
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Al Pacino
Located in Barcelona, ES
Figurative work by Al Pacino in black and white
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Inspiración (Paco de Lucía)
Located in Barcelona, ES
Figurative work of the singer Paco de Lucía
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Orgulloso
Located in Barcelona, ES
Figurative work
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Miradas en Venecia
Located in Barcelona, ES
Figurative work
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
El triunfo
Located in Barcelona, ES
Figurative work
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Carisma (Morgan Freeman)
Located in Barcelona, ES
Figurative work
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
La huella del tiempo
Located in Barcelona, ES
Figurative work of a man that symbolizes the passage of time
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Leyenda Camarón
Located in Barcelona, ES
Figurative work by Camarón in black and white
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
La bella y la bestia
Located in Barcelona, ES
Figurative work
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Desnudo II
Located in Barcelona, ES
Figurative work
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Autorretrato (Picasso)
Located in Barcelona, ES
Figurative work of a self-portrait by Picasso
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Mixed Media
Fuenteovejuna
Located in Barcelona, ES
Figurative work
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Equilibrio y belleza
Located in Barcelona, ES
Figurative work
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Bien Charlie
Located in Barcelona, ES
Figurative work
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
CONTEMPORARY Architecture Landscapes Dyptich Art British Anthony Garratt
Located in BARCELONA, ES
Anthony Garratt was born in 1979, He lives in South Devon with his young family, and currently works from his studio on the Dartington Estate. He studied at Chelsea College of Art for a Foundation (Dip), and a BA (hons) at Falmouth College of Art.
He has exhibited extensively in public and commercial galleries, including 18 solo shows to date. His paintings are held in private and corporate collections internationally.
His eclectic, self-initiated public installations have garnered much National press interest. In 2016, ‘High and Low’ which was commissioned in Snowdonia to communicate the area’s mining heritage, won the ‘Arts and Business Award’ in Wales and featured on National television. ‘To All At Sea’ from 2019 featured in both The Guardian and The Spectator as a ‘Top Ten Outdoor Artwork 2019’. His recent public participation artworks have encouraged hundreds of people to engage with the practice of painting, whilst raising thousands for associated charitable causes.
In 2019, following an artist residency with a photographer in South Africa, he established a collaborative project called, ‘Cawston Garratt’, which launched in London and combines, and interrupts, the processes of painting and photography.
Since 2014, he has been a tutor and mentor at The Newlyn School of Art, both on short courses and year-long professional practice programmes. He is a member of the Wilderness Art...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Acrylic, Cotton Canvas
CONTEMPORARY Architecture Spanish Artist Bea Sarrias Cadaques Light Coderch
Located in BARCELONA, ES
CADAQUES LIGHT
Casa Senillosa by José Antonio Coderch architect
46x61 cm
ACRYLIC ON LINEN
2023
The artist, Bea Sarrias, has developed much of her work in Barcelona, where she studi...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Linen
"Andalusian Farm" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Daud Akhriev's (EUR and US based) "Andalusion Farm" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a villa on a hill with trees in the foreground and blue sky in the background. ...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Board, Oil
"Finca Naranja" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Daud Akhriev's (EUR and US based) "Finca Naranja" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a sunny ledge with blooming glowers with a blue pool in the background.
Artist ...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Board, Oil
CONTEMPORARY Fine Art Architecture Spanish Artist Bea Sarrias 2023 La Ricarda
Located in BARCELONA, ES
“The living room in movement”
La RICARDA by Antonio Bonet Castellana architect
Acrylic on linen
100x180 cm
The artist, Bea Sarrias, has developed much of her work in Barcelona, wher...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Linen
Autumn vine shoot on a silver background
Located in Milan, IT
A vine shoot in warm autumn colours shows a ripe, purplish bunch against a silvery background.
With elegance and great balance Margherita Leoni (b. 1974 Bergamo) weighs solids and ...
Category
2010s Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Silver
Peace of Mind
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
“Discrimination”
This prejudicial treatment, which has led to many mental health problems, keeps making me wonder what life is as
I think about my future.
But still trying to figure ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Charcoal, Oil, Canvas, Mixed Media
Realist figurative paintings for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Realist figurative 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 figurative 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, red, orange and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Su Yu, Janusz Szpyt, JC Spock, and Matt Talbert. 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 figurative paintings, so small editions measuring 0.5 inches across are also available.
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