Essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary art in the twenty-first century. Realism has played an important role in art history ever since the discovery of perspective. Here, John Russell Taylor delineates the artist’s endeavor to re-create the smallest detail, from centuries before the invention of photography to the present day.

This book has been published to complement a series of shows called “Exactitude” at London’s Plus One Gallery of contemporary artists working in a figurative, hyperrealist style. The diversity of such works, whether still lifes, extreme close-ups, large-scale cityscapes, landscapes, or commercial packaging, is revealed. The artists, including Pedro Campos, Clive Head, Ben Johnson, David Ligare, Cynthia Poole, John Salt, Cesar Santander, Ben Schonzeit, and Tjalf Sparnaay, come from all over the world but are united here by their meticulous approach to their work whether they are depicting people, American diners, book spines, or car engines. 545 color, 5 b&w illustrations.

John Russell Taylor is a distinguished English critic and author.

Maggie Bollaert is the director of the Plus One Gallery.