Realism Artwork is Making a Huge Comeback in 2025

In modern art, realism is making a strong comeback. Even though AI-generated work is dominating headlines right now, the return to realism has signified that people are now starting to gravitate towards the real world once more.

The Realism Revival in Entertainment

Even though realism never disappeared, institutions across the world appear to be focusing on it now, more now than ever. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has recently mounted The  Soul of Nature by Caspar David Friedrich, and you also have the Realism Now exhibit, which can be found at the European Museum of Modern Art.

In music, realism is also being embraced in the form of album covers. Florence & The Machine’s Dance Fever stands out for its realistic style, with the album cover being reminiscent of a painting, with detailed brushstrokes and rich textures. Venom Prison’s album, Erebos, also features a painting as the album cover, with a focus on realism and human expression.

Interestingly, realism is also dominating the digital world, especially in graphic design. If you play online slots, you’ll notice that titles such as Buffalo Mania Megaways and Epic Dreams both feature natural landscapes with HD renditions of real-world elements. Even games like Extra Chilli feature lots of detail, including strings of garlic and a Mexican-inspired setting, to add authenticity and reliability. Other online games like chess are evolving from 2D versions to 3D boards. Developers are now focusing more on creating natural shadows as well, which better reflect the traditional version of the game and ultimately, real life.

People are being drawn more to this now as well, and with the trend dominating the art world, it’s going to be interesting to see what the future holds for upcoming artists and graphic designers who want to make their mark.

Source: Pexels

Realist Paintings are Fetching High Prices

Realist paintings are also beginning to fetch higher prices, which again supports the fact that people are now craving more genuine and authentic experiences. René Magritte L’empire des lumières recently sold for $121 million, for example. Beyond this, works by photorealists have also increased in price. An example would be the work painted by Richard Estes. He’s shown a phenomenal ability when recreating photographs, which helps to blur the line between art and photography as a whole. Movements like this also help to represent a broader cultural shift. Even though digital art and AI images are saturating the market right now, and it seems that collectors are resorting to realism as a form of resistance.

People are starting to want more authentic and tangible expressions of reality, as a way to counter the ever-evolving digital world we live in. Realism, whether it is through game graphics, art, or even product photos, is becoming more sought-after than ever. With museums and galleries across the world also taking the time to prioritise realist work, it shows that there’s a market for it. Big brands are also capitalising on the movement by choosing to use photorealism in digital designs, to support authenticity while giving the user something that they can relate to.