2.10 Read the information about perspective. Check your ideas about the
paintings.
In the past, pictures of people, places and
things didn't look like they do in real life. They
looked flat and out of proportion. In the 13th
century, artists began to produce life-like
images by giving their pictures perspective.
When we look at things around us, they are
three dimensional (3D) - they have volume and
depth. An artist uses perspective to create a
representation on a two dimensional (2D) piece
of paper or canvas of how we see things in real
life with space, distance and depth between
the various objects.
Foreshortening objects gives the impression
of perspective. The artist reduces the size of
objects in a picture as they follow the viewer's
line of sight into the distance. These lines
converge in vanishing points on the viewer's
horizon and the objects become too small to
see. This makes parts of the image appear far
away in the background or close to the viewer
in the foreground.
