Realism in the arts is the intent to achieve a truthful representation of reality in its historical context. In the mid fifteenth century, with the development of perspective, the gap between reality and the truthful representation of it narrowed. From then on, perspective became a convention that assured a closer representation of reality in the art of western civilization. Yet today, with photography at hand, when we look at a painting from the 15th Century we cannot find any, or few in the least, similarities to reality. The conventions of what a realist depiction of reality is, have changed with time, and this change is closely linked to technological evolution. » Read the rest of this entry «