Photorealism is a movement in which artists create paintings, drawings, or sculptures that closely resemble photographs or highly detailed visual records. It emerged in the late 1960s and 1970s, when artists used photographic references to examine perception, representation, and the relationship between mechanical and handmade images.
Origins and Context
Photorealism developed partly in reaction to the dominance of abstraction and the gestural language of Abstract Expressionism. It also appeared alongside Pop Art and the growing presence of cameras, advertising, mass media, and consumer imagery in everyday life.
Methods and Subjects
Artists may project, grid, enlarge, or carefully analyze photographs before translating them into paint or pencil. Common subjects include city streets, automobiles, shop windows, portraits, diners, signs, and ordinary objects. Reflections, glare, cropping, and depth of field often reveal the photographic source.
Important Artists
Chuck Close, Richard Estes, Ralph Goings, Audrey Flack, Robert Bechtle, and Don Eddy are among the best-known Photorealist artists. Their approaches range from monumental portraits to polished scenes of American urban life.
Legacy
Photorealism expanded debates about originality, skill, and the status of photography in art. It continues to influence contemporary painting, digital image-making, hyperreal sculpture, and artists who question what it means to copy reality.