The article starts from the premise that programs of realism are based on ever changing concepts of reality and as such are dependent on discourses in science, philosophy, law and politics as well as on medial developments and everyday patterns. As a result of modern art’s and literature’s dealing with notions of reality, realism in its different forms is one of the most important aesthetic discourses in modernity. After a theoretical chapter on the notion of realism and a short presentation of the groundbreaking realism of the 19th century, the article points out that France has a prominent place regarding aesthetic and theoretical proposals in this matter. Using the example of French contemporary discussions, the paper demonstrates that documentation and documentary modes are most fertile approaches to questions of reality, politics and art. It can be shown that realism is still at issue in contemporary art and theory.