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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
Contemporary portrait "In the Wood"
Located in Zofingen, AG
In this painting, I've interwoven the essence of the human spirit with the untamed beauty of the natural world. Using acrylics, I captured a moment of silent contemplation, enveloped...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

"Die, for I am dying"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
The corrida is a spectacular element of Spanish culture that impresses with its grandeur and drama. However, in my painting titled "Die, for I am dying" I aimed to convey the complex...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Flower Girl
Located in Pasadena, CA
Provenance Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist Signed "N Fabia" on lower left Artist Statement "This painting represents innocence. Flowers represent peace and love. This flower girl is uninhibited and loves all living things." —Natalia Fabia...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil

Afterglow, Original Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"Afterglow" by Emma Kalff (United States) is a handmade landscape oil painting that is framed and ready to hang.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

"Inner space 2."
Located in Zofingen, AG
"This series of works is based on the artist's impressions, communication with old and new friends. Our future is impossible without the past. We all appreciate old stories about our...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Wicked Witch of the East
Located in Burlingame, CA
'Wicked Witch of the East' is a masterfully painted oil on panel, that features a long haired, young and nude woman with a scar down her stomach. I bird atop her head gazes down at a...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

"A Black and White Girl in a Technicolor World" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Linda Adair's (Germany based) "A Black and White Girl in a Technicolor World" is an oil painting that depicts a female model in a green interior. Linda A...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

The Music Professor
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Presenting a magnificent early oil painting by American artist Robert McIntosh(1916-2010.) The Professor, is an original oil on paper, laid on panel, estate stamped, painted in 1935, currently unframed with an image dimension of 20 x 16 inches, beautiful original condition, acquired directly from the personal collection of the artist. This is among the earliest work of Robert McIntosh, painted in a master level classical style. Please contact our West Hollywood gallery...
Category

1930s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Chinese Contemporary Art by Su Yu - Spark in the Sunlight
Located in Paris, IDF
Oil on canvas Su Yu is a Chinese artist born in 1987 who lives & works in Beijing in China. He was an old student of prestigious art teachers as Shi Liang & Chen Danqing at Oil Pain...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Pink Dreams" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Claudia Griesbach- Martucci's "Pink Dreams" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a mallard duck with a blue bow as beautiful sunset col...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

By the Streets of the Old Lviv Town
Located in Zofingen, AG
Fifteen paintings have been donated to a charitable foundation for auctions in various European countries to support the army. It's been four months of work. Now I'm working twice a...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Acrylic

"Iris II" (2017), Original Realist Close-Up Floral Still-Life, Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"Iris II" Born in 1970, Sarah was raised in the Oklahoma countryside, inspired by her parents’ love of animals and nature. In 1995 she received her BFA from Oklahoma State Universit...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

"Quiet Descent"
Located in Denver, CO
"Quiet Descent" is a digital print on 5 acrylic panels by Michelle Jader.
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Panel, Digital

"Anoop s Place" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Raymond Bonilla's "Anoop's Place" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts the façade of a brick building with balconies as the morning light hits its surface. About the Artist: Raymond Bonilla is a nationally recognized illustrator and fine artist in Buffalo, NY. Raymond graduated from the State University in New York at Fredonia in 2005 with a degree in New Media and Illustration. He continued his studies at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco where he completed his Masters of Fine Art in 2009. He was awarded Best in Show in the Great Lakes Emerging Artist Competition, was a finalist in the Artists Magazine Annual Art Competition, has been awarded Gold Medals in advertising from both Society of Illustrators of New York and Los Angeles, and juried into the Communication Arts Illustration Annual. He currently lives in Buffalo, New York where he spends his time painting and teaching part-time at SmART School and Visual Arts Passage. He is represented by Principle Gallery in Alexandria...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Time Is Not a Machine
Located in Denver, CO
"Time Is Not a Machine," is an original oil painting by Brian Keith Stephens. It is unframed, but ready-to-hang. Artist Statement How to capture the past...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Cotton, Wax, Oil

"Passive Sacrifice, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Che Leviathan (US based) "Passive Sacrifice" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a white horse in profile, with thick white mane, bowing i...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Bay Area Figurative Movement Seated Nude
Located in Soquel, CA
Tranquil figurative portrait of a seated nude woman with brown hair and brown eyes by an unknown San Francisco bay area artist (American, 20th Century). Unsigned. Unframed.
Category

1970s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

After the Rain...
Located in Zofingen, AG
The quiet after a recent rain sets the stage, revealing a tranquil landscape. A vintage convertible and a solitary figure by an ice machine evoke a nostalgic, timeless scene. This ar...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Acrylic

Enchanted Light, Orignal Gouache Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"Enchanted Light" by Thane Gorek (United States) is a handmade landscape oil painting that is framed and ready to hang.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache

"Overcome", Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Matt Talbert ( US based) "Overcome" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a red-headed model gently resting her head in her hand. Artist bio/statement: Matt Talbert is a contemporary oil painter living in Southern California. Both a graduate from the Orange County School of the Arts and the Laguna College of Art and Design, he is now named one of the "Top 100 Figurative Artist Working Now" by Poets Artists Magazine. Matt's primary focus is expressive paintings of the human figure exhibited in galleries such as Arcadia Contemporary...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Linen

Beach Curve in the Evening Light by Swedish Artist Herman Österlund, 1920s
Located in Stockholm, SE
Herman Österlund was a Swedish artist best known for his beautiful depictions of the west coast of Sweden. He moved to Stockholm in 1896 and passed the test for entering the Royal A...
Category

1920s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Landscape Painting of Angling in Donegal Ireland by 20th Century Irish Artist
Located in Preston, GB
Landscape Painting of Angling in Donegal Ireland by 20th Century Irish Artist Art measures 18 x 14 inches Frame measures 29 x 25 inches R. B. Higg...
Category

20th Century Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Board, Oil

On the Road to Nattyville 3, Original Pencil and Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"On the Road to 'Nattyville' 3" by Lisa Lebofsky (United States) is a handmade landscape, pencil and oil, painting that is framed and ready hang.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media

"Hercules, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Claudia Griesbach-Martucci's "Hercules" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a black and white cat encircled with yellow roses.
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

"Worship" (2020) By Timur Akhriev, Original Realist Gouache Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Timur Akhriev's (US and EU based) "Worship" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a lone nude female figure kneeling on a bed of lily pads with pink flowers and bent over as if worshiping, with deteriorating structures in the background and a seagull flying overhead. Born in Vladikavkaz, the territory where Southern Russia meets Chechnya in 1983, Timur lived with his family until moving from the region during the conflict of 1991. After moving to St. Petersburg Timur began attending the St. Petersburg Iagonson Fine Art School at the age of twelve, where many of the professors studied at the Repin Academy of Fine Arts. After graduation in 2002, Timur immigrated to Chattanooga Tennessee...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Paper, Gouache

"Siren" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Joshua Lawyer's (US based) "Siren" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a nude red-headed female figure, with freckles, closing her eyes as...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Wood, Oil

FINE Original Antique By H. Carnier 19th Century British OLD MASTER OIL PAINTING
Located in Ferndown, GB
OLD FINE Original Antique 19th Century British OLD MASTER OIL PAINTING Good Condition Canvas. With one repair overtime , Professional Cleaned & Re-vanished , Ready to hang. " Origi...
Category

Mid-19th Century Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

I Feel So Small in the Mountains, Original Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"I Feel So Small in the Mountains" by Emma Kalff (United States) is a handmade landscape oil painting that is framed and ready to hang.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

The Happiness of Each Flower, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A girl carries freshly picked daisies as she walks through a meadow. The beauty of the flowers, the clear sky, and her presence convey peace and a deep connec...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Gavin - grey, yellow, young male, figurative, portrait, oil, collage on canvas
Located in Bloomfield, ON
This collage and mixed media portrait by Dan Hughes captures a moment in the young life of a child. Realistically rendered the figure is framed in warm grey, pale blue and yellow. ...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Paper, Oil, Acrylic

Evening, Original Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"Evening" by Shawn Krueger (United States) is a handmade landscape oil painting that is unframed, but ready to hang.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Void / oil on wood panel
Located in Burlingame, CA
'Void' features the face of a young woman with ladybugs and intricately patterned queen's lace. The painting in red-orange, sea green and white and is 16 x 12 1/2 inches, unframed, w...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Wood, Oil

Marsh Light, Original Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"Marsh Light" by Shawn Krueger (United States) is a handmade landscape oil painting that is unframed, but ready to hang.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

On the Road to Nattyville 1, Original Pencil and Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"On the Road to 'Nattyville' 1" by Lisa Lebofsky (United States) is a handmade landscape, pencil and oil, painting that is framed and ready hang.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media

View over Dry Creek, Original Dirt and Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"View over Dry Creek" by Lisa Lebofsky (United States) is a handmade landscape dirt and oil on aluminum painting that is unframed, but ready hung.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media

"The Long Way Home" (2019) By Thane Gorek, Original Gouache Landscape Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"The Long Way Home" by Thane Gorek (United States) is a handmade landscape oil painting that is framed and ready to hang. Thane Gorek is an artist working in Northern Colorado. He s...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache

Yin Yang (2022) By Hadley Rampton, Original Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"Yin Yang" by Hadley Rampton (United States) is a handmade landscape painting that is unframed, but ready to hang. Hadley Rampton’s paintings are an amalgamation of her love of comp...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Adventure Script, Original Mixed Media Painting
Located in Denver, CO
"Adventure Script" by Tracy Wall (United States) is a handmade landscape painting that is framed and ready to hang.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media

The little curious
Located in Genève, GE
Work on cardboard Golden wooden frame 58 x 50 x 4 cm
Category

Late 19th Century Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

"Winters Call" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Rob Alexander's "Winters Call" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a snowy river running alongside snow capped blue mountains. Contrasting the enduring against the ephemeral, the eternal mountains against the short lived ice and snow...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

"Emerald Anchor, " Oil painting
Located in Denver, CO
Judd Mercer's (US based) "Emerald Anchor," is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts the green shore of land that casts a reflection of its emeral...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Women in a Landscape - British Victorian art figurative landscape oil painting
Located in Hagley, England
This charming Victorian landscape oil painting is by noted British artist Henry Dawson. It was painted circa 1850, when Dawson was working in London, producing some of his best works...
Category

19th Century Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Rowing on a Lake in the Irish Mountain Landscape with Lush Green Trees Ireland
Located in Preston, GB
Rowing on a Lake in the Irish Mountain Landscape with Lush Green Trees in Ireland, by 20th Century Artist, William Yeaman. Original, Oil on Canvas prese...
Category

Late 20th Century Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

European Cityscape #5
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork "European Cityscape" c. 1990 is an oil painting on hard board by Argentinian artist Henry D. Ramirez. It is signed at the lower left corner by the artist. The hard board...
Category

Late 20th Century Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

"THE SEAMSTRESS" NATIVE AMERICAN GIRL COWBOY ARTISTS OF AMERICA. INDIAN
Located in San Antonio, TX
Don Crowley (1926-2019) Arizona / California Western Artist Image Size: 20 x 24 Frame Size: 33 x 37 Medium: Oil "The Seamstress" Indian Weaver Native Ameri...
Category

Early 2000s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

A toe - Contemporary Portrait Oil Painting, Realistic, Polish artist
Located in Warsaw, PL
Janusz Szpyt was born in 1960, he is a Polish painter. He graduated from the Graphic design faculty and painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. 1983 onward, he became the m...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Chains
Located in Fort Lee, NJ
Yuriy Grigoryan loves to work with symbols, the chain is something, on the one hand, chaining us, on the other, it is something that connects us to something or someone. This is both...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Chains
Chains
$6,150 Sale Price
25% Off
"Calm Before the Storm, " Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Suzy Smith's "Calm Before the Storm" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a feminine figure, in a white and black striped swimsuit, holding a ...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Linen

Contemporary portrait "Near the Sea"
Located in Zofingen, AG
In this painting, I've aimed to capture a moment of sudden stillness and a muted connection between two figures against a coastal backdrop. Using acrylics, I have layered the realist...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Acrylic

"Alien" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
David Cheifetz's "Alien" is an oil painting featuring brightly lit fruit with a metal teapot. About the artist: David is an internationally acclaimed and collected artist who cont...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

"Bad Babe" , Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Claudia Griesbach-Martucci's "Bad Babe" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a Gloucestershire Old Spots pig with a harness of wings po...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

"Ca d Oro, Venice" Late 19th Century Oil on Canvas of Venice, by Antonio Reyna
Located in Madrid, ES
ANTONIO REYNA MANESCAU Spanish, 1859 - 1937 CA' D' ORO, VENICE signed & located "A. Reyna, Venezia" (lower right) oil on canvas 11-1/2 x 19-3/4 ...
Category

1890s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Self
Located in Denver, CO
"Self," is an original oil painting by Karen Offutt. It is unframed, but ready-to-hang.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Self
$720 Sale Price
20% Off
Ebb Tide, Kennebunport, Maine
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork titled "Ebb Tide, Kennebunport, Maine" c.1990, is an oil painting on canvas by Irish artist Val McGann, 1928-2016. It is signed at the lower l...
Category

Late 20th Century Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

We Don t Need No More Trouble
Located in Denver, CO
"We Don't Need No More Trouble," is an original oil painting by Brian Keith Stephens. It is unframed, but ready-to-hang. Artist Statement How to capture ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Cotton, Oil

"Adventure Awaits" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Rob Alexander's "Adventure Awaits" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a sunrise on a sandy beach and ocean landscape. This painting ...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

"Lost in Thought" Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Kelly Birkenruth's (US based) "Lost in Thought" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a lone female figure in profile looking towards Japanese blossoms in the background while resting her elbow on her knee. Kelly Birkenruth’s captivating paintings are in the style of contemporary realism while staying firmly grounded in the tradition of the Old Masters. She is able to pull the viewer into her paintings by interweaving emotion with a humanistic quality through her supreme handling of light. Through her portraits and still lifes she is able to evoke sensitivity and empathy, which in turn allows her to create images which transcend mere representation to capture the true essence of her subject. Kelly’s arresting compositions, draftsmanship, use of color and observation of detail allow her to create paintings with a timeless quality. After earning her degree from Pennsylvania State University, Kelly moved to southern California where she began a career as a fashion model. Her agency soon sent her abroad to Paris and Tokyo, where she spent the next several years modeling. When she wasn’t walking the runway, she spent endless hours in the great museums of the world, closely observing and studying the works of the Old Masters. “My time abroad, particularly in Paris, opened my eyes to the vast beauty and power of a great painting. After that I knew I wanted to dedicate my life to the pursuit of Fine Art” said Birkenruth. After returning to the States, Kelly studied at Otis College of Art in Los Angeles, CA. She then continued her studies through workshops and private study with renowned artists such as Daniel Sprick, Steven Assael and Jesus Emmanuel Villarreal. In the spring of 2019 Kelly...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Contemporary portrait "In the Center of the Metropolis"
Located in Zofingen, AG
I love walking the streets of the private sector when the weather is nice. It feels like being in a small town rather than in the center of a metropolis. I've aimed to capture the co...
Category

2010s Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Acrylic

Pistil
Located in Burlingame, CA
'Pistil' A young ladies body changing from childhood to adulthood along with caterpillar to butterfly. Her innocence is tarnished with a vine of thorns that surrounds her body. Condi...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Tick Tock
Located in Burlingame, CA
'Tick Tock' is a masterfully painted oil on canvas. The painting is 8 1/4 x 5 3/4 inches unframed. Tick Tock is wired and ready to hang and enjoy. Conditio...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Realist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board, Linen

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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