Realist Landscape 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.
2010s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Emulsion, Monotype, Paper
Artist Comments
A soft winter hush settles over a quiet bend where a dark ribbon of water slips gently through snow-covered banks. Sparse reeds and delicate branches create a m...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
2010s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Lithograph, Monotype
1950s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Charcoal
Artist Comments
A narrow channel of ice stretches across a serene winter field, its delicate cracks revealing nature’s subtle strength and fragility. Soft washes of umber, gr...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
1980s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Oil, Board
Artist Comments
A narrow, half-frozen stream winds through a snow-covered field, reflecting the soft light of a pale winter sky. Bare trees frame the scene and lead the gaze in...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Late 19th Century Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Artist Comments
A pale winter road winds through a hush of trees, their bare branches reaching into soft, silvery air. The world holds its breath, and only the faint promise of...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Early 2000s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Charcoal, Magazine Paper
1980s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Charcoal, Pastel
1960s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
1920s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Pencil
1990s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pastel
Artist Comments
A quiet expanse stretches beneath a pale sky, where the lake and horizon merge in muted, cool tones. This winter landscape speaks of stillness, endurance, and t...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
2010s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Chalk, Charcoal
2010s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Lithograph, Monotype
2010s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Emulsion, Watercolor, Engraving, Etching, Monotype
Artist Comments
Early morning light glimmers across a winding winter creek, scattering pale blues and cool shadows between the intricate weave of bare branches. Water moves ben...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Early 20th Century Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
2010s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Artist Comments
A fallen tree stretches along a tranquil, icy riverbank, its gnarled branches reaching toward the pale winter sky. Patches of snow cling to the rugged bark, c...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
1910s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
2010s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Charcoal, Archival Paper
1970s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Artist Comments
A gently flowing river reflects the soft glow of a warm summer morning, creating a sense of calm and stillness. A towering tree casts deep shadows over the wa...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
1990s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Color Pencil
1980s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
1940s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Gouache
20th Century Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache
Late 20th Century Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
1920s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
Early 1800s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Watercolor, Graphite
Artist Comments
A serene woodland bathes in dappled sunlight. Tall trees cast shadows across a winding road and the grass, while streaks of light add a sense of peace to the sc...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Artist Comments
Heavy downpours left a large puddle in a rural field. The rainwater reflects the bright sky above and the silhouettes of surrounding trees. Soft, diffused lig...
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
20th Century Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Oil, Board, Paint
2010s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Photographic Film, Emulsion, Watercolor, C Print, Color, Dye Transfer, L...
Early 2000s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Charcoal, Pencil
Early 1900s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pastel
Early 19th Century Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Aquatint
1970s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Archival Paper, Monotype
Mid-20th Century Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Late 20th Century Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Canvas, Oil, Cotton, Cotton Canvas, Gesso
1980s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
19th Century Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Ink
1870s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
1970s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache, Pencil
2010s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Illustration Board
1990s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Oil Crayon, Oil Pastel, Pastel, Board
Late 19th Century Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Paper
Early 2000s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Handmade Paper
1880s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Late 20th Century Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Oil Pastel, Pastel
Late 19th Century Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Late 19th Century Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
Early 20th Century Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
1870s Realist Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor




