Illusion

Creating works that are indistinguishable from reality has always been a central artistic challenge. Through approximately 150 works from the Old Masters to contemporary artists, the exhibition and catalog demonstrate that illusion means much more than mere optical deception. In light of the power of illusionistic images and current debates surrounding fake news and artificial intelligence, they also shed light on today's image-saturated society. Through introductory essays, the catalog explores the different facets of the concept of illusion and presents the cross-era exhibits of the exhibition in their context of creation. Jan Baptist Weenix encounters Ron Mueck or Elmgreen & Dragset, while Jean-Léon Gérôme meets Cindy Sherman. Literary excerpts and quotes from figures such as Ovid, William Shakespeare, André Breton, Bertolt Brecht, or Jean Baudrillard highlight the interdisciplinary nature of the topic.