thumb|upright=1.3|John's Diner with John's Chevelle, 2007. [[John Baeder, oil on canvas, 30×48 inches]]

Photorealism is a genre of art that encompasses painting, drawing and other graphic media, in which an artist studies a photograph and then attempts to reproduce the image as realistically as possible in another medium. Although the term can be used broadly to describe artworks in many different media, it is also used to refer to a specific art movement of American painters that began in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

History

Origins

As a full-fledged art movement, Photorealism evolved from Pop Art and as a counter to Abstract Expressionism in the late 1960s and early 1970s in the United States. despite the fact that visual devices had been used since the fifteenth century to aid artists with their work.

Louis K. Meisel states in his books and lectures the following: The invention of photography in the nineteenth century had three effects on art: portrait and scenic artists were deemed inferior to the photograph and many turned to photography as careers; within nineteenth- and twentieth-century art movements it is well documented that artists used the photograph as source material and as an aid—however, they went to great lengths to deny the fact fearing that their work would be misunderstood as imitations; Thus, the culmination of the invention of the photograph was a break in art's history towards the challenge facing the artist—since the earliest known cave drawings—trying to replicate the scenes they viewed. Realism continued as an ongoing art movement, even experiencing a reemergence in the 1930s, but by the 1950s modernist critics and Abstract Expressionism had minimalized realism as a serious art undertaking. Photorealists were much more influenced by the work of Pop artists and were reacting against Abstract Expressionism.

Pop Art and photorealism were both reactionary movements stemming from the ever-increasing and overwhelming abundance of photographic media, which by the mid 20th century had grown into such a massive phenomenon that it was threatening to lessen the value of imagery in art. However, whereas the Pop artists were primarily pointing out the absurdity of much of the imagery (especially in commercial usage), the Photorealists were trying to reclaim and exalt the value of an image. Trompe-l'œil paintings attempt to "fool the eye" and make the viewer think he is seeing an actual object, not a painted one. When observing a Photorealist painting, the viewer is always aware that they are looking at a painting. in 1969 and appeared in print for the first time in 1970 in a Whitney Museum catalogue for the show "Twenty-two Realists". It is also sometimes labeled as Super-Realism, New Realism, Sharp Focus Realism, or hyperrealism.

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Styles

Photorealist painting cannot exist without the photograph. In Photorealism, change and movement must be frozen in time which must then be accurately represented by the artist. The resulting images are often direct copies of the original photograph but are usually larger than the original photograph or slide. This results in the photorealist style being tight and precise, often with an emphasis on imagery that requires a high level of technical prowess and virtuosity to simulate, such as reflections in specular surfaces and the geometric rigor of man-made environs.

Artists

The first generation of American Photorealists includes the painters Richard Estes, Ralph Goings, Chuck Close, Charles Bell, Audrey Flack, Don Eddy, Denis Peterson, Robert Bechtle, Ron Kleemann, Richard McLean, John Salt, , and Tom Blackwell. Often working independently of each other and with widely different starting points, these original Photorealists routinely tackled mundane or familiar subjects in traditional art genres--landscapes (mostly urban rather than naturalistic), portraits, and still lifes.

Though the movement is primarily associated with painting, Duane Hanson and John DeAndrea are sculptors associated with photorealism for their painted, lifelike sculptures of average people that were complete with simulated hair and real clothes. They are called Verists. As of September 2020, Richard Estes is the only remaining original Photorealist actively working in the Photorealist style.

Artists Robert Bechtle, Charles Bell, Tom Blackwell, Ralph Goings, John Kacere, Ron Kleemann,Audrey Flack and Chuck Close have died; Don Eddy, Denis Peterson, have moved away from Photorealism; and Robert Cottingham no longer considers himself a photorealist.

Newer Photorealists are building upon the foundations set by the original Photorealists. Examples would be the influence of Richard Estes in works by Anthony Brunelli or the influence of Ralph Goings and Charles Bell in works by Glennray Tutor. However, this has led many to move on from the strict definition of photorealism as the emulation of the photograph. Photorealism is also no longer simply an American art movement. Starting with Franz Gertsch in the 1980s Clive Head, Raphaella Spence, Bertrand Meniel, and Roberto Bernardi are several European artists associated with photorealism that have emerged since the mid-1990s. With new technology in cameras and digital equipment, artists are able to be far more precision-oriented and can produce imagery using a wider range of media. The artist Bill Fink has developed his own technique for creating photorealistic images using soil, pollen, human hair, and cremated human remains.

Photorealism's influence and popularity continues to grow, with new books such as Juxtapoz's 2014 book entitled Hyperreal detailing current trends within the artistic genre.

List of photorealists

;Original photorealists

Significant artists whose work helped define Photorealism:

  • John Baeder (born 1938)
  • Ian Hornak (1944–2002)
  • Howard Kanovitz (1929–2009)
  • John Kacere (1920–1999)
  • Linda Bacon (born 1942)
  • Mike Bayne (born 1977)
  • Roberto Bernardi (born 1974)
  • Arne Besser (1935–2012)
  • Randy Dudley (born 1950)
  • Franz Gertsch (1930–2022)
  • Don Jacot (born 1949)
  • William Nichols (born 1942)
  • Jerry Ott (born 1947)
  • Tjalf Sparnaay (born 1954)
  • Paul Staiger (born 1941)
  • Glennray Tutor (born 1950)
  • Rod Penner (born 1965)

See also

  • Abstract illusionism
  • Contemporary art
  • Contemporary realism
  • History of art
  • Hyperrealism (visual arts)
  • Photorealistic rendering
  • Realism (arts)
  • Trompe-l'œil
  • Art of Europe
  • Western painting

Bibliography

  • Auping, Michael; Bishop, Janet; Ray, Charles; and Weinberg, Jonathan (2005), Robert Bechtle: A Retrospective. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. .
  • Chalumeau, Jean-Luc (2007), Peinture et Photographie: Pop art, figuration narrative, hyperréalisme, nouveaux pop. Paris: Editions du Chêne. .
  • Chase, Linda (1988), Ralph Goings: Essay/Interview. New York: Abrams. .
  • Chase, Linda (ed.) (2001), Photorealism: The Liff Collection. Naples, Florida: Naples Museum of Art. .
  • Geldzahler, Henry and Meisel, Louis K. (1991), Charles Bell: The Complete Works, 1970–1990. New York: Abrams. .
  • Lindey, Christine (1980), Superrealist Painting and Sculpture, New York: William Morrow and Company.
  • Meisel, Louis K. (1989), Photorealism. New York: Abradale/Abrams. .
  • Meisel, Louis K. (1993), Photorealism Since 1980. New York: Abrams. .
  • Meisel, Louis K. and Chase, Linda. (2002), Photorealism at the Millennium. New York: Abrams. .
  • Meisel, Louis K. and Harris, Elizabeth K. (2013), Photorealism in the Digital Age. New York: Abrams. .
  • Meisel, Louis K. and Perreault, John (1986), Richard Estes: The Complete Paintings, 1966-1985. New York:Abrams. .
  • Paraskos, Michael (2013), Scarborough Realists Now. London: Orage Press. .
  • Paraskos, Michael (2010), Clive Head. London: Lund Humphries. .
  • Wilmerding, John (2006), Richard Estes. New York: Rizzoli. .

References

Further reading