It is important to remember that as far as art history goes, that it is patently untrue that realism only became humanly possible with the development of linear perspective in Europe thanks to Brunelleschi (a commonly repeated myth in lower division art education), and that examples of artistic realism as we know it today has long existed in many, much older art traditions. West African arts cultures are a great example to work off of. (i.e. Yoruba)
This Yoruba bust (or Ife Head) is dated to the 12th-14th centuries.
This misunderstanding also deeply, unfortunately, and inaccurately mischaracterizes traditional arts in African cultures as being “less developed” for being more stylized, as if they cannot figure out realism due to difficulty (lmao?), which simply is not the case.
I don’t often make original posts like this, but I’ve rarely seen this addressed outside of art history land, and it really bothers me!!!