15+ Incredibly Realistic Artworks That Are Hard to Believe Are Not Photographs

Since the ancient Greeks, realism has been aspired by Western art lovers, but during the late 1960s and '70s the popularity of highly-realistic paintings reached its peak. Thus, Photorealism and Hyperrealism were born. These genres are still popular, and some artists master their technique so successfully that it becomes hard to tell a painting from a photograph. Bored Panda collected some of the best examples of this work and made this stunning list for you to enjoy.

However, although often mixed, Photorealism differs from Hyperrealism in a couple of ways. Photorealists aim to reproduce an image using a different medium and distance themselves from adding emotion and intent into their work, while hyperrealists want to insert narration and feelings into their work. The latter movement has its roots in the philosophy of Jean Baudrillard, "the simulation of something which never really existed."