Versions of Real

Compare the paintings on this page. They’re all realistic. But notice how different they look from one another. From the colors the artists use to their compositional choices and brushwork style, every artist approaches realism in their own way.

Realistic figure painting means representing the figure accurately and truthfully. But what does that really mean?

Compare the paintings on this page. They’re all realistic. But they look different from each other too. The artists use different colors and brushwork styles to create their compositions.

Painted in 1876, Portraits in the Countryside, above, features four women—all relatives of the artist—seated at café tables. Some embroider, one reads. No one looks at the viewer. It’s as if the artist, Gustave Caillebotte (GOO-stahf kai-BAHT), took a quick, surreptitious photo as he passed by. The French artist was an Impressionist. Impressionists were artists who aimed to capture impressions of their subjects in their daily lives.

Although heavy garments hide the women’s bodies, the draped fabric offers a sense of their relaxed postures. Caillebotte expertly shows how the women are engrossed in their work and comfortable with one another. Today we might spot a similar scene of friends hanging out at a coffee shop, looking at their phones—together but separate.

The 1876 painting Portraits in the Countryside, above, features four women who were all relatives of the artist. They sit at café tables, reading and embroidering. None of them look at the viewer.

The artist, Gustave Caillebotte (GOO-stahf kai-BOT), was a French Impressionist. Impressionists aimed to capture the feelings of everyday life in their work.

Heavy dresses hide the women’s bodies. But the draped fabric shows that their postures are relaxed. Caillebotte shows how the women are focused on their work and comfortable with one another.

In Al and Tom, above, American artist Alex Katz shows two figures on a flat aluminum panel. Look at the panel from the other side and you will see the same two figures from the other side. At more than 6 feet tall, the work is close to human scale, as if the pair is standing in the room with you.

Whether you observe the 1969 work from the front or the back, the figure wearing the plaid shirt stands closer to you, an impossibility that adds an element of the surreal to the image. The positive space—the panels—is interrupted by a large-scale cutout of Katz’s wife’s face in profile, created using negative space. Is this work a portrait of her too?

American artist Alex Katz painted Al and Tom, above, in 1969. It shows two figures on a flat aluminum panel. The other side of the panel shows the same figures from the opposite side. At more than 6 feet tall, it is close to life-sized.

But there are unreal elements of the work too. Whether you look at it from the front or the back, the figure in the plaid shirt appears closer to you. That would be impossible in real life. And the panel has a large profile of Katz’s wife’s face cut out of it.

Through her art, Amy Sherald seeks to portray “everydayness as excellence.” A Midsummer Afternoon Dream, above, portrays a woman leaning against a bike, with Sherald’s own dog riding in the basket. As in Caillebotte’s work, loose fabric helps define the figure’s posture. But unlike the Impressionist’s subjects, Sherald’s 21st-century subject gazes directly at the viewer.

Sherald uses rich color throughout the life-sized scene, drawing attention to the summer day. A breeze blows the subject’s hair, her dress, the sunflowers, the dog’s fur, and even the tiny blades of grass. The woman is the calm focal point in the midst of an active scene. In the 2021 work, Sherald elevates a commonplace image of a woman and her bike through scale, dramatic color, and bold eye contact.

Amy Sherald wants to portray “everydayness as excellence.” A Midsummer Afternoon Dream, above, shows a woman leaning against a bike. Sherald’s own dog sits in the basket. Loose fabric shows the figure’s posture, like in Caillebotte’s work. But Sherald’s subject looks directly at the viewer.

Sherald uses rich color to show the summer day. A breeze blows the subject’s hair and dress, the sunflowers, the dog’s fur, and even the blades of grass. The woman is the calm focal point in the middle of a bright setting. Sherald elevates this everyday scene using scale, color, and eye contact.

Aliza Nisenbaum usually paints from life, with her sitters spending hours posing. As a result, she gets to know her subjects well. She sees them “literally being vulnerable” and tries “to translate that experience into paint.”

Marissa, Pedacito de Sol (Little Bit of Sun), above, features an unusual perspective—Nisenbaum shows Marissa from above. In this 2023 painting, the artist uses color to create the highlights, shadows, and the planes that define the subject’s face and arms. The colors echo through the composition, creating unity.

Compare Marissa’s posture with the people in the other paintings shown here. Which figure seems most natural? Why?

Aliza Nisenbaum usually paints using sitters. That means real people spend hours posing for her while she paints. As a result, she gets to know her subjects well. She says she tries “to translate that experience into paint.”

The 2023 painting above is called Marissa, Pedacito de Sol (Little Bit of Sun). It has an unusual perspective. Nisenbaum shows Marissa from above. She uses color to create the highlights and shadows that define the subject’s face and arms.

Compare Marissa’s posture with the figures in the other paintings. Which seems most natural to you?