Vision and Illusion in the Renaissance: Key Points

Linear Perspective Origins:

• Discoverer: Filippo Brunelleschi

• Date: Demonstrated in 1413

• Key Principle: Parallel lines converge at a vanishing point.

Leonardo da Vinci's Scientific Insights: (what did he study and argue)

• Observer: Leonardo da Vinci

• Experiment: Studied the physiology of the eye.

• Finding: Argued light enters the eye, rejecting the ancient notion.

Define Anamorphic Art (created first by who?)

• Technique: Anamorphic (stretched) art for visual riddles.

• Artist: Leonardo da Vinci created the first known anamorphic image.

• Usage: Popular for political satire portraiture.

• Anamorphic Art: gives a distorted image of the subject represented in a picture when seen from the usual viewpoint but so executed that if viewed from a particular angle,

  

What are the traditional Pictorial cues (why are then seen as the traditional ones)

• occlusion

• height in the visual field

• relative size

• relative density

• aerial perspective

Seen as Traditional as all these cues are within the techniques of linear perspective mastered by Renaissance artists (all created from linear perspective)