Realist Figurative Photography

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.

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Style: Realist

Villa Vera

Realist Figurative Photography

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsVilla Vera, 1968

1970s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsDown To The Pool, 1979

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsVilla Vera, 1968

1970s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsDown To The Pool, 1979

1970s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsDown To The Pool, 1979

1970s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsCommander Whitehead, 1974

1970s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsCommander Whitehead, 1974

1970s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsCommander Whitehead, 1974

1980s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsNirvana Quartet, 1986

1980s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsNirvana Quartet, 1986

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsRacquet Club Pool, 1961

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsRacquet Club Pool, 1961

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsRacquet Club Pool, 1961

1970s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsAcapulco Pool, 1971

1970s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsBy The Pool In Acapulco, 1978

1950s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsEsther Williams Poolside, Estate Edition, 1950s Florida, 1955

1970s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsPoolside Backgammon, Estate Edition, 1970s Acapulco, Villa Nirvana Las Brisas, 1972

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsHotel Las Brisas, Estate Edition, late 1960s Acapulco, 1968

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsHotel Las Brisas, Estate Edition, late 1960s Acapulco, 1968

1970s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsPoolside Backgammon, Estate Edition, 1970s Acapulco, Villa Nirvana Las Brisas, 1972

1980s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsConca dei Marini, Italy, Estate Edition Photograph, 1984 - Printed Later

1950s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsWindsors In Portofino, Italy, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph, 1951

1980s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsLaudomia Pucci, Florence, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph, 1983 - Printed Later

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsCortina d Ampezzo, Italy, 1962

1950s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsKatherine Hepburn, Estate Edition, 1953

1950s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsKatherine Hepburn, Estate Edition, 1953

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsSkaal House In Stowe, Vermont, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph, 1962 - Printed Later

1970s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsIce Bar, Austria, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph, 1979 - Printed Later

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsSkiers At Gstaad, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph, 1969 - Printed Later

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsHotel Olden, Gstaad, Estate Edition, Urban Landscape Photograph, 1961, printed later

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsHotel Olden, Gstaad, Estate Edition, Urban Landscape Photograph, 1961, printed later

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsSkiers In St. Moritz, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photo, 1963 - Printed later

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsSignpost In St. Moritz, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photo, 1963 - Printed Later

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsCurling At St. Moritz, Switzerland, Estate Edition Photograph, 1963 - Printed Later

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsCurling At St. Moritz, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photo, 1963 - Printed Later

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsCrossing Snow Field, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph, 1963 - Printed Later

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsVerbier Skiers, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Winter Portrait Photograph, 1964

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsVerbier Skiers, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Winter Portrait Photograph, 1964

1950s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim AaronsBermuda Beach, Estate Edition, 1957

1960s Realist Figurative Photography

Slim Aarons
Villa Vera, 1968

Slim Aarons
Down To The Pool, 1979

Slim Aarons
Villa Vera, 1968

Slim Aarons
Down To The Pool, 1979

Slim Aarons
Down To The Pool, 1979

Slim Aarons
Commander Whitehead, 1974

Slim Aarons
Commander Whitehead, 1974

Slim Aarons
Commander Whitehead, 1974

Slim Aarons
Nirvana Quartet, 1986

Slim Aarons
Nirvana Quartet, 1986

Slim Aarons
Racquet Club Pool, 1961

Slim Aarons
Racquet Club Pool, 1961

Slim Aarons
Racquet Club Pool, 1961

Slim Aarons
Acapulco Pool, 1971

Slim Aarons
By The Pool In Acapulco, 1978

Slim Aarons
Esther Williams Poolside, Estate Edition, 1950s Florida, 1955

Slim Aarons
Poolside Backgammon, Estate Edition, 1970s Acapulco, Villa Nirvana Las Brisas, 1972

Slim Aarons
Hotel Las Brisas, Estate Edition, late 1960s Acapulco, 1968

Slim Aarons
Hotel Las Brisas, Estate Edition, late 1960s Acapulco, 1968

Slim Aarons
Poolside Backgammon, Estate Edition, 1970s Acapulco, Villa Nirvana Las Brisas, 1972

Slim Aarons
Conca dei Marini, Italy, Estate Edition Photograph, 1984 - Printed Later

Slim Aarons
Windsors In Portofino, Italy, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph, 1951

Slim Aarons
Laudomia Pucci, Florence, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph, 1983 - Printed Later

Slim Aarons
Cortina d Ampezzo, Italy, 1962

Slim Aarons
Katherine Hepburn, Estate Edition, 1953

Slim Aarons
Katherine Hepburn, Estate Edition, 1953

Slim Aarons
Skaal House In Stowe, Vermont, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph, 1962 - Printed Later

Slim Aarons
Ice Bar, Austria, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph, 1979 - Printed Later

Slim Aarons
Skiers At Gstaad, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph, 1969 - Printed Later

Slim Aarons
Hotel Olden, Gstaad, Estate Edition, Urban Landscape Photograph, 1961, printed later

Slim Aarons
Hotel Olden, Gstaad, Estate Edition, Urban Landscape Photograph, 1961, printed later

Slim Aarons
Skiers In St. Moritz, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photo, 1963 - Printed later

Slim Aarons
Signpost In St. Moritz, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photo, 1963 - Printed Later

Slim Aarons
Curling At St. Moritz, Switzerland, Estate Edition Photograph, 1963 - Printed Later

Slim Aarons
Curling At St. Moritz, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photo, 1963 - Printed Later

Slim Aarons
Crossing Snow Field, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph, 1963 - Printed Later

Slim Aarons
Verbier Skiers, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Winter Portrait Photograph, 1964

Slim Aarons
Verbier Skiers, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Winter Portrait Photograph, 1964

Slim Aarons
Bermuda Beach, Estate Edition, 1957

Slim Aarons
Tania Mallet in the Bahamas, Iconic Slim Aarons Estate Edition, 1961

Slim Aarons
Iconic Slim Aarons Estate Edition Tania Mallet in the Bahamas , 1961

Slim Aarons
Verbier Skiers, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Winter Portrait Photograph, 1964

Slim Aarons
Verbier View, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph, 1964

Slim Aarons
Poet s Paradise, Estate Edition T.S. Eliot in Love Beach, New Providence Bahamas, 1957, printed later

Slim Aarons
Poet s Paradise, Estate Edition T.S. Eliot in Love Beach, New Providence Bahamas, 1957, printed later

Slim Aarons
Dining Al Fresco On Capri, Estate Edition, 1980, Printed Later

Slim Aarons
Stocking Island, Bahamas, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph, 1964, Printed Later

Slim Aarons
Palm Springs Party, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph, 1970 - printed later

Slim Aarons
Monte Carlo, Monaco, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph, 1975, Printed Later

Slim Aarons
Monte Carlo, Monaco, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph, 1975, Printed Later

Slim Aarons
Positano Beach, Italy, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph, 1979, Printed Later

Slim Aarons
The Klosters, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph, 1963

Slim Aarons
The Klosters, Switzerland, Estate Edition, Landscape Photograph, 1963

Slim Aarons
Donna Fabrizia Lanza Di Mazzarino, Sicily, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph, 1984 - Printed Later

Slim Aarons
Skaal House In Stowe, Vermont, Estate Edition, Mid-Century Modern Photograph, 1962 - Printed Later

Slim Aarons
Monocled Miss, Estate Edition (German model Renata Boeck in 1960s New York), 1964

Slim Aarons
Rockefeller Brothers, New York, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph, 1980, printed later

Slim Aarons
Rockefeller Brothers, New York, Estate Edition, Portrait Photograph, 1980, printed later

Slim Aarons
Slim Aarons Colorful Crew (Slim Aarons Estate Edition), Printed Later

Slim Aarons
Slim Aarons Venice Gondolas , Estate Edition, 1957