1. Linear Perspective and the Illusion of
Space
Linear perspective is a
mathematical system for creating
the illusion of space and distance
on a flat surface.
2.
3. To use linear perspective an artist must first
imagine the picture surface as an "open
window" through which to see the painted
world.
4. Renaissance artists experimented with ways to
create the illusion of deep space on a flat
surface. They figured out that in real life,
parallel lines (for example, a road) appear to
converge, or meet, as they recede into the
horizon.
5. Straight lines are then drawn on the canvas to
represent the horizon and "visual rays"
connecting the viewer's eye to a point in the
distance.
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7. The horizon line runs across the
canvas at the eye level of the
viewer. The horizon line is
where the sky appears to meet
the ground.
8.
9. From our point of view, when we look at School
of Athens (next slide) it is hard to tell where
the real architecture ends and the painted
arches begin. It is as if we are looking through
the wall it is painted on and into the next
room. In that room are some of the great
thinkers of history who inspired Raphael,
including the Greek philosophers Plato and
Aristotle in the center.
10. Raphael, The School of Athens, 1508, Fresco, Approximately 18 x 26 ft., Stanza della
Segnatura, Vatican Palace, Vatican State
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14. You can see the transverse lines in the staircase of the School of Athens
by Raphael
15.
16. Two Vanishing Points
When a cube or any other rectilinear object is
positioned so that the corner, instead of the
side, is closest to us, we need two vanishing
points to draw it.
17. The square in the foreground is not parallel to the picture plane or to the painted
architecture and is in two-point perspective.
18. Figure Placement and Space
The size of each figure is drawn to scale according to
its distance from the viewer (you); thus the entire
group seems natural.
The closer a figure is to the foreground of the painting
or to the viewer; the larger the figure will be.
The farther the figure is from the viewer the smaller
the figure will be.
19.
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21. The same idea is applied
to drawing parts of the
body on a flat surface.
This is called
foreshortening. This
technique is applied so
that the body looks as
it would in three
dimensional space.
22. Figures in Space
• Without the use of the architectural space and
the structures surrounding the figures in the
fresco, it would be much more difficult to
point out the most important figures.
• The surroundings help situate the figures in
space and give them importance.
