Realism in Arch Viz (Part One): What is Realism?

In architectural visualisation realism is something that is generally regarded as a prerequisite for a good marketing image. (I use the term ‘realism’ in the popular sense of optical accuracy – as opposed to the 19th century movement in art and literature called Realism, which had very specific aims – see below). Furthermore, this article deals only with the artistic/creative side of realism, and not the technical). In this image above by Third Aesthetic, photographic realism has been achieved to a supreme degree. But what makes an image realistic, and what makes this one so compelling in its realism, is by no means a straightforward issue. 

Firstly, realism, as we generally understand this term, occupies a remarkably small place in the overall history of art, and can be regarded as something of an outsider when it comes to listing the essential features of art. Most art created by societies all over the world during a history spanning more than 40,000 years makes little or no attempt at being realistic (in the sense that we use the term in arch viz). There are only a few exceptions, such as the art of Classical Antiquity (c. 500 BCE - 330 CE) and European art from the 14th century to the 19th century. This outsider status gives rise to certain problems and challenges that the realistic artist or image-maker must face. To appreciate these challenges, a brief survey of the historical position of realism is needed. 

There are no surviving examples of Greek painting from Classical Antiquity, but, judging from contemporary accounts, it must have equalled or even surpassed the realism of their sculpture from the Classical and Hellenistic periods (see below). Pliny the Elder, for example, tells of a painting competition in which a painting of grapes by the famous Hellenistic Greek painter Zeuxis was so realistic that birds flew down to peck at them.