Art Tech

Years ago, I saw a documentary by artist David Hockney that argued that the Dutch Masters achieved their extraordinary photo-realism with aid from secret lens-based devices.  Now a new film is being released with a similar theory, in which an American inventor with no art training attempts to recreate a Vermeer painting using advanced-for-its-time lens technology.  Although art experts prefer the "he was just a genius" idea, this seems very convincing as a way to make photos before photography was invented.  What is fascinating is the lengths people had to go for something we all take for granted now.