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Equidistant Intervals in Perspective Photographs and Paintings
1Department of Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
I-Perception
|October 5, 2016
Summary
Artists often depict spatial equidistance inaccurately in paintings, representing it in physical space or limited visual depth, not true visual space. This study analyzes how painters depict equidistant intervals across different eras.
Area of Science:
- Visual perception
- Art history
- Computational art analysis
Background:
- Human vision is sensitive to spatial equidistance, but the information basis for this perception in images remains unclear.
- Previous studies focused on measuring thresholds for spatial equidistance, not on its depiction in art.
- Understanding how artists represent equidistance can offer insights into visual perception and artistic techniques.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the informational basis of spatial equidistance perception in images.
- To analyze how artists throughout history have depicted equidistant intervals in paintings and engravings.
- To determine if artists accurately represent equidistance in physical space, picture plane, or visual space.
Main Methods:
- Computational analysis of perspective photographs of walls and canals to define equidistant intervals based on different spatial sources.
- Analysis of 30 paintings and engravings featuring rows of equidistant elements (columns, tiles, trees).
- Comparison of depicted equidistance with physical space, picture plane, and visual space representations.
Main Results:
- Intervals are perceived as equidistant when defined in visual space.
- Artistic depictions of equidistance primarily represent either physical space or a visual space with limited depth.
- Even renowned experts in linear perspective often depicted nonveridical visual space regarding equidistance.
Conclusions:
- The perception of equidistance is strongly linked to visual space representation.
- Artists' skill in depicting equidistance varies, with many not achieving veridical representation in visual space.
- This study highlights a disconnect between the visual system's sensitivity to equidistance and its artistic rendering across different historical periods.
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