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In the Renaissance, maybe when the text written by Alberti ('On Painting') became known? It was an inspiration for Renaissance artists, and explained how the rules of perspective worked.
Another time, I think was in Ancient Greece. When modelling in light and shadow was invented, or the invention of the use of the highlight in painting. And it all goes back to Egypt ultimately. What the Greeks did was started in Egypt.
To me a very interesting development are computer generated images like Toy Story, Shreck, Finding Nemo. The increasingly powerful possibilities of computers in this make a logical comparison with the greater possibilities of oil-paint compared to tempera.
It has to do, I think, with technical inventions giving new possibilities and inspiration. The invention of the use of shadows, the invention of the highlight in ancient history. The invention of working in oil, or perspective in the Renaissance.
This, combined with an economic possibility for painters to sell their work for good money to churches or individuals. If painting nowadays was as profitable as web design for example, we would see a totally different art world, I guess.
I would choose the works of Leonardo in the Renaissance (especially his 'Last Supper') as the giant leap painting had to take from Giotto/Masaccio/Verocchio (or early Renaissance) to a mature high-Renaissance-style which made the work of Raphael or the high-Renaissance in general possible.
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