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Perspective in Art - Conjuring the Space

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December 4, 2016

Silka P (https://www.widewalls.ch/author/silka-p/)

Alias of Ksenija Pantelić

Since history can remember, artists have attempted to recreate the three-dimensionalities
of the world. Aided by tools such as perspective in art, golden ratio
(https://www.widewalls.ch/golden-section-significance-art-mathematics/), rhythm
(https://www.widewalls.ch/rhythm-in-art/), variety, line (https://www.widewalls.ch/line-art-
famous-examples/), and the rest of the art’s elements (https://www.widewalls.ch/five-
elements-of-art/), artists wrestled with Nature and its laws. The word perspective, when
applied to art, signifies the accurate depiction of objects from a certain vanishing point on a
two-dimensional surface, so that their relative height, width, and position to one another
create depth.[1] The obsession to be as accurate as possible in their representation of the
world created the need for the perspective in the art which aided artists in the
representation of both the world and its value systems. Recognizing that the world is not
flat and that objects appear smaller or larger depending on the movement and placement,
reflected the research in perspective which occurred in the early period of art history.
Forming itself as one of the traditional rules of creativity, perspective in art was viciously
attacked at the beginning of the 20th-century by the major avant-garde movements
(https://www.widewalls.ch/avant-garde-movement-theater-music-photography-
contemporary-art/), such as Impressionism (https://www.widewalls.ch/impressionist-art/),
Cubism (https://www.widewalls.ch/cubist-paintings/), and Abstract art
(https://www.widewalls.ch/contemporary-abstract-art/). Investigating for the new
perspective in representing the world, authors rejected the rule of perspective in art and
changed the face of creativity forever.

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Pietro Perugino – Christ handing the keys to St Peter. Image via soundaffairs.wordpress.com

The History of Perspective in Art

Contrary to the popular belief that Medieval artists rejected the idea of perspective in art
and focused on the creation of the flat, beautiful, and easy to understand religious images,
paintings of the 13th-century display the understanding of scale. Figures in the foreground
were painted bigger than figures in the background but it is here that the analysis of space
and depth stopped. During the Renaissance time, known as the period of both revival and
humanism, which saw Europe recover from the black plaque, Italian city Florence was
defined as an art force in its own right. The famous Medici family ruled the city, employed
artists, and architects to reflect the new birth and need for innovation. The produced
artworks, churches, and buildings reflect the fusion of science and creativity which aided
the authors in their creations. Responsible for the major innovation and one of the main
principles of perspective in art, the linear perspective, was Filippo Brunelleschi, the
foremost architect, and engineer of the Italian Renaissance. With his experiment using a

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mirror with a hole, Filippo Brunelleschi offered artists a mathematical system for projecting
the three-dimensional world onto a two-dimensional surface such as paper or canvas.

Salvador Dali – The Sacrament of the Last Supper. Image via artmathmusic.com

What are Linear and Aerial

Perspectives?
As one of the two terms used to define aspects of perspective in art, linear perspective is
linked to the idea that objects of similar size appear smaller as the distance between the
object and viewer increases. On the other hand, the effects that atmosphere has upon
objects as they recede into the distance is referred to as aerial perspective. The talk about
aerial perspective dips into color theory (https://www.widewalls.ch/color-theory-basics-
elements-color-wheel/) as it reflects the finding that objects move closer to the color blue
tone as they move further away from the public’s eye. The creation of such a distance also
reflects the extreme contrast between light and dark, color saturation, and the amount of

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details within an artwork. In order to recreate the world as best as they could, artists used
linear perspective system which projects the illusion of depth onto a two-dimensional
plane by the use of vanishing points to which all lines meet at eye level on the horizon. The
horizon line in the system represents the furthest distance from the background.
Orthogonal may be drawn from the bottom of the picture plane, which defines the
foreground of the space. These points establish the space where the artist can situate his
elements, be it figures, architecture or other objects. Early on, artists only used one
vanishing point, and the placement of such central point suggested the value systems of
the period and the hierarchal order within the painting.[2] Such is the case in religious
paintings, where the point is intentionally placed on Mary’s womb to indicate her place as
the mother of Christ. This placement of the point has religious significance and may not
relate to the intention to create a rational perspective space. It took over 400 years to
develop the idea of the two vanishing points and today we understand that objects
containing parallel lines may have one or more vanishing points.

Gustave Caillebotte -Le pont de l’ Europe. Image via studentartguide.com

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Famous Artist Who Relied on

Perspective in Art
The first known picture to make use of linear perspective was created by Filippo
Brunelleschi, but the artist Masaccio was the first painter who demonstrated the result of
the new rules of perspective in art. During the Renaissance period, famous artists such as
Leonardo, Italian sculptor (https://www.widewalls.ch/italian-sculptors/) Michelangelo,
Raphael, Botticelli and Titian employed this artistic method and created some of the most
celebrated paintings of art history. This method was further enhanced during the Baroque
and the Neoclassical period during which French art (https://www.widewalls.ch/french-art-
history-movements-styles-artworks/) scene and its painters produced some of the most
important paintings (https://www.widewalls.ch/french-paintings/).

Pablo Picasso – Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, 1907

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The 20th-Century Attack and the New

Face of Painting
During the early 20th-century art rebelled against the traditional understanding of painting.
Aiming to develop the new way of seeing the world and to create the new aesthetic of the
visual language, Paul Cezanne (https://www.widewalls.ch/artist/paul-cezanne/) was the first
to question the underlying structure of his subjects.[3] The painter rejected the laws of
classical perspective which created the hierarchy within the traditional painting and allowed
each object to be independent in the picture. He focused on the relationship between the
objects rather than on the traditional single-point perspective. Considered as a truly
revolutionary style of modern art developed by Pablo Picasso
(https://www.widewalls.ch/artist/pablo-picasso/) and Georges Braque
(https://www.widewalls.ch/artist/georges-braque/), Cubism movement was created to reflect
the modernization of the world and to further enhance the need for the new approach to
looking at things. Simplified geometric shapes (https://www.widewalls.ch/geometric-art/),
angular, and structural Cubism paintings reflected the interest towards African art
(https://www.widewalls.ch/tribal-art-primitive-artists/), stylization, and abstraction. The shift
of the focus from the complete picture to just its parts rejected the traditional
understanding of the perspective. The focus on color during the Fauvism movement
(https://www.widewalls.ch/fauvism-wild-beasts-modern-art/) showcased in the paintings by
Henri Matisse (https://www.widewalls.ch/artist/henri-matisse/), displayed the shift in the
art’s research.[4] The flat areas of vibrant color, along with the stylization of his figures, didn’t
focus on the creation of depth within the picture but instead on form and its simplification.
The final blow, so to speak, occurred thanks to Wassily Kandinsky
(https://www.widewalls.ch/artist/wassily-kandinsky/). Defined as the pioneer of abstract art,
his shift from “real world” to the geometric shapes and the spiritual aspects of color,
completely changed the face of art. From this point on, art didn’t need to reflect the Nature
as it is but rather – as it was understood and intimately perceived.

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Left: Felice Varini – Geometrical Anamorphic Art. Image via pastemagazine. com / Right:
Anamorphic Art with Mirror Re ection. Image via imgur.com

The Use of the Perspective in

Contemporary Art
Developed through centuries, the linear perspective method is still used by various
designers (https://www.widewalls.ch/20th-century-design-movements/), architects
(https://www.widewalls.ch/most-famous-architects-today/), and artists today. The fusion of
science, technology, and art (https://www.widewalls.ch/the-serious-relationship-of-art-and-
technology/) has provided various digital programs which aid the authors to apply the
method and create various 3D digital creations (https://www.widewalls.ch/computer-art/).
On the other hand, numerous experimentations with the perception of the space attempt
to confuse the notion of the real are reflected in the growing number of illusion art pieces
(https://www.widewalls.ch/optical-illusion-art-today/). Considered as one of the methods
which explored the way artists presented the beauties of the world, perspective in art is not
only a compositional tool but a reflection of the need to understand how does the human
eye perceive the space which surrounds us all.  Editors’ Tip: The Art of Perspective: The
Ultimate Guide for Artists in Every Medium Forget everything you think you know (or don’t
know) about perspective. This book builds an easy-to-follow, ground-up understanding of
how to turn a flat painting or drawing surface into a living, breathing, dimensional scene that
lures viewers in. No matter how you look at it, it’s the ultimate guide to perspective for
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(https://www.amazon.com/Art-Perspective-Ultimate-Artists-

Medium/dp/1581808550/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=widewalls-
20&linkId=d07e892e7409d600c534be643ccfa260)
artists of every medium and skill level. The Art of Perspective offers simple yet powerful
techniques for achieving a convincing illusion of depth and distance while it offers engaging
and easy to follow step-by-step demonstrations and exercises. References:
1. Anonymous, What is Perspective?
(http://www.artic.edu/aic/education/sciarttech/2d1.html ), The Art
Institute of Chicago – Science, Art, and Technology [November 21, 2016]
2. Cole, R., V., Perspective for Artists, Dover Publication Inc, NY, 1976
3. Brener, E., M., Vanishing Points: Three Dimensional Perspective in Art
and History, McFarland & Company, Jan 1, 2004
4. Anonymous, Op Art History Part I: A History of Perspective in Art
(http://www.op-art.co.uk/history/perspective/), Op-art.co.uk [November
21, 2016]

All images used for illustrative purposes only.

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