Illusions of reality. Naturalist painting, photography and cinema

Capturing realistic images has been a staple of Western art since the development of perspective during the Renaissance. At the end of nineteenth century, however, artist attempted not only to paint realistically, but also to create images that reflected the reality of the newly industrialized world around them. At the heart of naturalist art were the lives of ordinary people at a time of great social, economic and cultural transformation. Illusions of reality traces the relationship between several art forms that utilized the naturalist aesthetic, including painting, photography, film, theatre and literature.