Final answer:
Artwork that captures the likeness of real life in great detail is termed photorealism, a movement characterized by depicting everyday scenes with exacting precision. These photorealistic works aim to be indistinguishable from photographs, often using actual photographs as references for their detailed and accurate representations.
Step-by-step explanation:
Artwork that shows as closely as possible to real life, capturing every minute detail and aiming for an image that resembles a high-resolution photograph, is known as photorealism. This art movement, which is also called superrealism, emerged in the late 1960s and 1970s in the United States and Britain. Photorealism's subject matter typically includes everyday scenes portrayed in an extremely detailed and exacting style. This approach to art reflects the artists' intention to recreate the exact realism of their subjects, whether it be the shiny metal parts of a diner's interior or the gentle play of light on a storefront. The goal is to represent everyday life with such precision that the artwork and reality are almost indistinguishable.
Photorealist artists often utilized photography as a foundation, projecting photos onto canvases or using grid lines to ensure accuracy in their renditions. They worked in various media such as painting, drawing, and mixed media, to achieve the camera's viewpoint. Unlike abstract or minimalist works, photorealism focused on representational art, which aims to mimic our actual visual experience of the world in a truthful and convincing manner.
A notable example of photorealism can be seen in works depicting ordinary scenes like Amsterdam Diner (1.2.10), which portrays the counter area of a restaurant with an ordinary worker waiting for his order. The meticulous attention to detail in these works provides a window into the everyday life, emphasizing photorealism's appeal and its powerful connection with viewers by presenting familiar scenes in a new level of detail.