The Realism painting style depicts life as it actually appears without added glorification, drama or emotion. This movement attempts to keep the artist’s interpretation to a bare minimum. The idea is to present life in its natural environment which often includes the ordinary, the mundane and even the ugly.

The style of painting originated in the mid 1800s in France as a reaction to the predominate Romantic movement of that time. This period also coincided with the development of photography. French artist Gustave Courbet is considered to be the father of the realistic style. His famous painting, A Burial at Ornans, depicts the 1848 funeral of a relative and is generally credited with kicking off this artistic style.

Classical Realism is a relatively modern movement that attempts to return the realistic painting methods and craftsmanship of pre 20th Century artists. Artists rely only on their observational skills without the use photography.

Fantastic Realism attempts to use the realistic techniques of the old master painters (before 1828) with added religious symbolism.

Social Realism grew out of the great American Financial Depression of the 1930s. The intent of these works of art was to realistically depict the devastating struggles and injustice of that era.
Romantic Realism renders its subjects realistically but with the freedom to add the possibilities of how things could be or even should be based on traditional romantic ideology