This article is part of the Fine Arts & Exhibits special section on the art world stretching boundaries with new artists, new audiences and new technology.

Back in 1838, Louis Daguerre captured the first photo of a human being with revolutionary technology. Not long after, the French painter Paul Delaroche purportedly made a startling, widely quoted declaration: “From today, painting is dead.”

Well, not so fast. The complex photo technology used then is no longer widely used. And almost two centuries later, painting is far from dead — even if it has evolved.

This fall, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is mounting a spirited defense of the medium, with an exhibiton that looks at the ways that painting has evolved (and thrived) over roughly the last 50 years.

“The Living End: Painting and Other Technologies, 1970-2020,” curated by Jamillah James and Jack Schneider, an assistant curator at the museum, and featuring both paintings made the traditional way and works made using media and other technology, will be on display from Nov. 9 through March 23.

James, who is also the museum’s senior curator, explained in an email interview: “The show looks at how computers, the internet, cameras (including video and photography) and automation have influenced the production and reception of painting.”

She noted that, besides making traditional paintings, the artists in the show also use photography, sculpture, printmaking and digital tools; the media and approach vary from artist to artist. Some works adopt techniques borrowed from other disciplines; some blend art history, internet culture and other references; and some use humor or satire. Several pieces also critique exclusionary practices in the art world, such as Shigeko Kubota’s “Vagina Painting” (1965), which James said addresses “the predominant visibility of male painters.”