From a phenomenological point of view, picture objects – i. e. the things visible in pictures – occupy an intermediate position: on the one hand, they share with the objects of the imagination the property that they are for the beholder not present: The object visible in a picture, like an imaginary object, is not really present. But unlike fantasy objects, picture objects, on the other hand, are visible and public like objects of perception. This intermediate position is the reason to speak of an artificial presence of the image. The thesis of the lecture is that in the technical development of the image media, attempts can now be observed to phenomenally adapt the image object to the imaginary object as well as to the perceptual object. The alignment of the image object with the perceptual object leads to immersive images and the alignment of the image object with the imaginary object leads to virtual realities.