Final answer:
The 19th-century desire to portray nature realistically motivated the development of photography, which was established as an art form parallel to traditional arts like painting. Photographers like Alfred Stieglitz advanced the recognition of pure photography's unique aesthetic.
Step-by-step explanation:
The desire of 19th-century artists to make accurate depictions of nature was the motivation behind the eventual invention of photography. Photography emerged as an artistic medium that married traditional composition methods with innovative techniques, creating a new vision of the material world. During the 19th century, an effort was made to place photography on par with fine arts such as oil painting. This was achieved by staging photographs and manipulating them to resemble famous paintings or suggest the aesthetics of contemporary artworks.
Famous photographers like Alfred Stieglitz later championed photography as a unique art form in its own right. He and others were successful in introducing photography into museum collections and establishing it as fine art. The role of photography in the arts has evolved over time; from its initial function as a tool for realistic documentation to an independent medium that provided a new lens through which to see the world.