Glossary Term: Photography
Although photography dates back to Leonardo da Vinci's inventions during the Renaissance, the modern camera was invented in the 1830s with daguerreotypes. The first cameras were large and bulky, so people came to the photographer's studio to have their portraits taken. This meant that a main purpose of portraiture—recording what people looked like—could now be done more quickly and inexpensively than ever before. This has had a profound impact on art, and has prompted many artists to explore new styles such as Realism, Impressionism, Cubism, and Abstract Expressionism.

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