Realism Paintings For Sale

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Whether you are looking for an original Realism painting or a high quality art print, Saatchi Art has over 92,238 original Realism paintings for sale from emerging artists around the world. Read more

Realism paintings aim to depict the world through the lens of objective reality by avoiding stylization, idealism, and any unnatural or implausible subject matter. The Realism art movement (also called “Naturalism”) emerged in mid 19th century France as a reaction to the over-idealization of 18th century Romanticism. The movement’s tenets were also adopted by many novelists, playwrights, and, in later years, filmmakers. If you appreciate the paintings of famous realism artists including Gustave Courbet, Jean-Francois Millet, Vasily Perov, and Hubert von Herkomer, we invite you to explore Saatchi Art’s international selection of realist paintings for sale today!

To make realist paintings, artists accurately painted ordinary individuals engaged in everyday life situations, not shying from the often mundane or unpleasant reality. Famous realist paintings accurately portray unidealized scenes, often at a grand scale typically associated with religious works, underlining the importance of humanism. Realist art paintings can be figurative, landscapes, portraits, or still life. The realist artist depicts the world the way they see it, using oil or acrylic paint in accurate, direct brushstrokes to present subject matter.

Realism emerged in a tumultuous France, at the outset of a series of revolutions in the late 19th century. Realist paintings artists sought to move away from the romanticism of the previous century, instead depicting the unpleasant and sordid truths of life. As the chasm between the aristocracy and working class deepened, realist artists reacted by painting scenes of ordinary life and everyday activities experienced by the growing working class. As realism caught on in France, led by Gustave Courbet, the realist art style caught hold in other parts of the world as well. Realism art movements emerged in Russia and Britain, and would inspire a later generation of American Realism and Photorealism.