For the performing art of magic, see Magic (illusion)
Illusionism in art history means either the artistic tradition in which artists create a work of art that appears to share the physical space with the viewer.[1], or more broadly the attempt to represent physical appearances precisely - also called mimesis. The term realist may be used in this broader sense, but that also has a rather different meaning. Illusionism encompasses a long history, from the deceptions of Zeuxis and Parrhasius to the works of muralist Richard Haas in the twentieth century, that includes trompe-l'oeil, anamorphosis, Op art, Abstract Illusionism, and Illusionistic ceiling painting techniques such as di sotto in sù and quadratura.[1] Sculptural illusionism includes works, often painted, that appear real from a distance.[1] Other forms, such as the illusionistic tradition in the theatre, and Samuel van Hoogstraten's "peepshow"-boxes from the seventeenth-century, combine illusionistic techniques and media.
In his writings and art criticisms during the mid-1960s art critic/artist Donald Judd claimed that illusionism in painting undermined the artform itself. Judd implied that painting was dead, claiming painting was a lie and because it depicted the illusion of 3-dimensions on a flat surface. Judd claimed that painting needed to recognize its objecthood in real space and reject illusion. Donald Judd wrote in “Specific Objects” in 1965: