Really?!
Art and Reality 1400–1900

In an era of AI and fake news, trust in the truthfulness of images is fading. With historical paintings and sculptures, however, we seldom question what we see. The current exhibition at the Arp Museum invites you to explore how our perception of reality has evolved over the centuries.

In medieval art, depictions often centered on the human figure, with facial expressions and gestures making the remote divine feel accessible and real. For instance, the delicate physicality of a sculpture of the Virgin and Child (c. 1300) conveys a profound spiritual intimacy. The 16th and 17th centuries present reality quite differently: here, the seemingly real, deceptively authentic genre scenes and still lifes are more than they appear to be. They hold deeper symbolic layers waiting to be uncovered and deciphered. With 19th-century Realism, photography and painting compete for authenticity. Between devotion and everyday life, ideal and observation, the exhibition reveals how each era shaped its own truth in images.