Art 101
Photorealism is a style of art in which a painting is created based on a photograph. Change, movement, and the reality of existence are portrayed in a photograph, and then must be precisely transferred onto canvas. The finished piece of art is an exact replica of the original photograph (a larger version) with a great emphasis on the reproduced image and the way the artist interpreted and expressed it. Photorealism enabled an artist to capture a moment in time that he or she wanted to creatively express through painting.
The photorealist style is precise and although it depicts traditional subject matter such as landscapes (urban landscapes rather than naturalistic), portraits, and still-life’s, it still undertook more dynamic and diverse forms. Sculptors during this time would have molds made of their own body and that of a model, and would then replicate their bodies in meticulous detail.
Famous Modern Art Artists:
Chuck Close
Richard Estes
Glennray Tutor
Ralph Goings
Example of Photorealism: Telephone Booths, 1968 by Richard Estes
