Why was it important fro art to be painted realistically before photography was invented?

1. the majority of art that created from past periods usually destroyed because of natural reasons. christian arts on the other hand, usually protected with added layer protection and ketp securely inside a church.this make it really difficult to distinguish whether the church art and the other art belong to the same period.2. christianity influenced art because many christian artist depict the story in the bible and the reflection of their faith thorough their artworks.not only that, many christian buildings were built with heavy emphasize on their aesthetical value in order to give some sort of praise to their god.3. the most notable characteristics of byzantine art is  its  use of rich colors and plain backgrounds.the purpose of this technique is to put more focus on the subject or object that was drawn in the center of the frame.4. things that considered as the most notable characteristics of goth art are the integration of art forms, (most notably architecture, sculpture, and stained glass), and the usage of dark themes. this type of art was very common to be used in christian art because it could emphasize the feeling of solemness that could highlight the suffering that the followers may face in order to follow the  religion.5. i would critique  the women of willendorfthe women of willendorf depicted a figure of human's body parts (closer to female rather than male), without showing any face, hands, feet, and hair.the figurine in this artwork was shaped with asymmetrical body, blend coloration,  with the use of color  to give the sculpture a skin pigment and give it more meaning.