1 Point Perspective, Aerial Perspective & 2 Point Perspective

What is perspective? a way of representing three-dimensional space on a two- dimensional, flat surface developed in Florence, Italy in the early 15 th century by Filippo Brunelleschi and Leon Batista Alberti

Development of Linear Perspective Filippo Brunelleschi ( ) was the sculptor and architect who demonstrated the principles of perspective through mathematics

Brunelleschi’s “Peep Show” In In 1415, Brunelleschi painted his picture of the Baptistery on the surface of a small mirror, right on top of its own reflection. Brunelleschi drilled a small hole in the mirror and then stood directly in front of the Baptistery, looking through the peephole to see the real building. This proved that he painted an exact replica.

Leon Battista Alberti ( ) Was an architect and writer who was the first to make rules for artists to follow. He imagined that the picture surface as an “open window” through which a painted world is seen. His “checkerboard pavement” showed receding parallel lines, which represent the visual rays connecting the viewer’s eye to a spot in the distance

Application of Linear Perspective Brunelleschi's proposal drawing of t The interior of the Church of Santo Spirito (1543) Actual Interior of Brunelleschi's Santo Spirito

Early Approaches Before the Renaissance, artists were less concerned with the illusion of reality and more concerned with the content and symbolism of their work. Many of the earlier works artists created showed little depth. Does this picture reflect depth? Why or why not? Kaufmann Haggadah. Spain, late 14th C.

Perspective Vocabulary  Vanishing Point The single point on the horizon where all the lines on the ground level seem to come together  Horizon Line The place where the land and the sky meet.  Viewpoint The perspective of the viewer.  Orthogonal Line straight lines which are drawn at an angle from the edges of objects, back into space, until they finally comet together at the vanishing point

Normal Viewpoint

Paolo Uccello. The Hunt in the Forest (1460s). Oil on canvas.

High Viewpoint

Pietro Perigino, Delivery of the Keys, Fresco, Sistine Chapel ( )

Low Viewpoint

Bramantino. Adoration of the Kings (1498). Oil on panel.

Atmospheric or Aerial Perspective Leonardo da Vinci. The Virgin of the Rocks (1508). Oil on wood. This method creates the perception of distance. Objects in the distance are not only smaller, they are: 1.Less detailed 2.Less in focus (hazier) 3.Less vibrant in colour Combined with Linear perspective Aerial perspective brings two dimensional art to life.

Linear PerspectiveAerial Perspective

Perspective and Eye Level In perspective drawing, the horizon line is also the viewer's eye- level. In the picture on the left, the figures share the same eye level/horizon of the picture. This suggests that they are all the same height and are standing on the same plane. On the right, their eye levels no longer have any relationship to the eye level of the picture. As a result, the scale of the figures is totally confused.

Perspective theories are not just applied to buildings, which are geometric, but also to organic forms, such as bodies. Perspective foreshortening is one such method: Foreshortening is based on studies from life as well as perspective principles. Figure is encased in a grid-like “box” divided into equal units. When box is laid on the ground, the units diminish as they recede.

Can you locate the horizon line? Test yourself!

Can you locate the orthogonals?

Remember, in 1 Point Perspective drawing, the objects (buildings or walls) are shown face on, with the front of the building/wall parallel to the picture plane..

Objects seen at an angle would be drawn with two-point perspective using two vanishing points. Artwork with two-point perspective often has vanishing points "off the page". Gustave Caillebotte, Rue de Paris, 1877

Edward Hopper's The Lighthouse at Two Lights, 1929 Can you see the direction of the two vanishing points? Are they both on the picture frame?

In two-point perspective the front edge of the form is seen as the closest point.

Lines leading to the vanishing points on the horizon line are called orthogonals.

Remember, in 2 Point Perspective drawing, the objects (buildings or walls) are shown with their front edges closest to the viewer and parallel to the picture plane..