Sketch Book for the Artist

ARCHITECTURE

Pathways of Sight

LINEAR PERSPECTIVE (also called vanishing-point perspective)

is a simple device for calculating the relative size of things in

pictorial space. We use it to structure illusions of depth. It

can be applied to any subject, but is most easily seen and

understood in pictures of buildings and interiors. Invented by

Italian artist and architect Brunelleschi in 1413 (late in the

history of art), linear perspective is distinct from more ancient

systems practiced in the East, and those of Naive artists and

children. It is also distinguished from aerial perspective (see

pp. 206-07). All forms of perspective are of equal value.

Here Leonardo provides a superb example of a single

vanishing point. Piranesi an example of two, and age eight,

I contribute the child's perspective. Sometimes shared with

Naive artists, this perspective is often an imagined bird's-eye

view in which details are mapped according to logic and

importance rather than how they might appear in real life.

LEONARDO DA VINCI

One of the greatest artists, scientists, inventors, and thinkers

ever to have lived. In his notebooks, Leonardo recorded

constant streams of ideas, observations, and inventions—

essential reading for inquiring minds.

Single-point perspective Tie a thread to a pin. Press the pin into Leonardo's

vanishing point, found at the center of all converging lines. Pull the thread

taut and rotate it slowly above the drawing. See how the thread corresponds

to each converging line. Note how architectural features conform to lines and

how human figures diminish in size toward the vanishing point.

Study of Perspective for the

Adoration of the Magi

1481

61 / 2 x 111 / 2 in (165 x 290 mm)

LEONARDO DA VINCI