Day 28 - Characteristics of Linear Perspective

During the Renaissance humanism became the focus for artists.  They began looking to classical Greek and Roman art to influence their work and they began portraying people within believable environments and reacting with emotion within their settings.  One of the achievements during this time was the use of vanishing points to create these more believable settings.  This also gave the artist more control over how the viewer interacted with the art by directing what they see and how their eyes would move over the plane of the painting.

The Annunciation, with Saint Emidius
1486, Carlo Crivelli - With added linear perspective lines

Characteristics of Linear Perspective

In Linear Perspective some of the distinctive characteristics are:  1) there is no distortion of straight lines; 2) no distortion of foreshortening of objects or distances which are parallel to the picture plane;  3) Orthogonals or right-angle lines to the picture plane converge on a single vanishing point which is dependent on the fixed position of the observer; and 4) the diminution in the size of objects is proportionate to their distance from the observer (everything is measurable, creating a mathematically homogeneous space and giving unity to the overall pictorial design).

1) there is no distortion of straight lines.
2) there is no distortion or foreshortening of objects or distances which are parallel to the picture plane.
3) Orthogonals to the picture plane converge on a single vanishing point which is dependent on the fixed position of the observer.
4) The diminution in the size of objects is proportionate to their distance from the observer. Everything is measureable in this respect. This is, therefore, a "mathematically homogeneous space," and it gives unity to the pictorial design.

Achievements of Linear Perspective

By using Linear Perspective artists were able to:  1) portray more scientifically convincing images; 2) create a fusion between art and science (and religion) especially as Humanism becomes the focus; 3) create a strong symbolic focus or emphasis;  4) create more clarification of objects as they exist in space;  5) create a stronger sense of body movement in space; 6) All of this combined created a new more powerful and directed relationship between the viewer and painting.

·         scientifically convincing image

·         fusion of art and science

·         symbolic focus or emphasis

·         new relationship of viewer to painting

·         clarification of objects and space

·         richer vocabulary of body movement

References:

1. http://www.radford.edu/rbarris/art216sumfall/Italian%20painting%20in%20the%2015th%20century.html
2. http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/carlo-crivelli-the-annunciation-with-saint-emidius