Perception and Art

Perception and Art

Lecture 3:
Lecture 3:
Perspective and Depth
Perspective and Depth
Bob Dougherty
Bob Dougherty
Stanford Institute for
Stanford Institute for
Reading and Learning
Reading and Learning
ARTH202, Winter 2007
ARTH202, Winter 2007
Course Overvie
Introduction to Visual Perception
Color and Light
Perspective and Depth
Beauty, Symmetry and the Human Face
The Art of Illusion

Try to see the Op-Art and Escher exhibits at

the SJMA (opens Jan. 28)
course website: orange.stanford.edu
(click on the link to Art and Perception)
Perspective and Depth
Human Depth Perception

Binocular cues to depth

vergence

stereopsis

Monocular cues to depth

accomodation

size

occlusion, height

convergence of parallel lines

atmospheric effects
Perspective in Art
Hockney-Falco thesis
!ergence" Infinite Distance
!ergence" #ediu$ Distance
!ergence" C%ose Distance
Our to &yes see Different
!ies of a Scene
Our Brain 'ses Stereo Disparity
to Co$pute ()ear* Depth
+a%%paper I%%usion
http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Autostereogram
+a%%paper I%%usion
http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Autostereogram
+a%%paper I%%usion
http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Autostereogram
Autostereogra$
(Christopher ,y%er*
http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Autostereogram
#agic &ye
http://www.magiceye.com/
#agic &ye"
,he -idden I$age
http://www.magiceye.com/
Perspective and Depth
Human Depth Perception

Binocular cues to depth

vergence

stereopsis

Monocular cues to depth

accomodation

size

occlusion, height

convergence of parallel lines

atmospheric effects
Perspective in Art
Hockney-Falco thesis
Perspective and Depth
Human Depth Perception

Binocular cues to depth

vergence

stereopsis

Monocular cues to depth

accomodation

size

occlusion, height

convergence of parallel lines

atmospheric effects
Perspective in Art
Hockney-Falco thesis
perspective
Si.e Constancy
Si.e Constancy
Occ%usion and -eight
Occ%usion and -eight
Convergence of Para%%e% Lines
Si.e/ -eight/ Occ%usion/ Convergence
Perspective
Perspective
Ancient &gypt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_of_ancient_Egypt
Pharaoh Akhenaten (~1340BC)
depicted as bigger than the rest
of his royal family because he
was of greater importance.
Ro$e/ 0nd Century AD:
Centra% and Para%%e% Convergence
Pompeiian mural of the pageant of Orestes (courtesy CW Tyler)
Renaissance
Claude Lorrain, 1648
Renaissance
Jan Vermeer, Street
in Delft (1657)
-oc1ny"2a%co Con3ecture
Startling photo-realism emerged in
Renaissance Art
But- odd errors in some pieces hint at the
use of optical tricks

camera lucida

concave mirror
-usband and +ife (Lotto/ 4563*
-usband and +ife Detai%
A$o%fini
Portrait (van
&yc1/ 4636*
A$o%fini Portrait #irror
Supper at &$$aus (Caravaggio/ 4784*
Stor19s Refutation
Engineering the necessary optics would be
hard
Lighting is a problem
The supposed photo-realistic details aren't
correct in ways not predicted by optics
Other (known) tricks are much more likely
to have been employed
:er$an Perspective #achine
Albrecht Drer (1471-1528), Underweysung der Messung Mit
dem Zirckel un Richtscheyt, in Linien, Nuremberg: 1525.
Another Perspective ,ric1
Albrecht Drer (1471-1528), Underweysung der Messung Mit
dem Zirckel un Richtscheyt, in Linien, Nuremberg: 1525.
A Si$p%e Perspective Device
Recreation of a Renaissaince perspective device,
from a Virginia Museum of Fine Arts 2005 exhibit.
Claude Lorrain, Landscape with Aeneas at Delos (1672)