In Art, perspective is a technique used to represent three-dimensional objects and depth on a two-dimensional surface.
Italian architect and engineer, Filippo Brunelleschi, is credited with formalizing the mathematical principles of linear perspective in the early 15th century.
Masaccio was the first Renaissance painter to incorporate Brunelleschi’s discovery into art. This is seen in Masaccio’s Holy Trinity (1427) in the church of Santa Maria Novella, in Florence. In the perspective diagram overlaying Masaccio’s painting: Masaccio painted from a low vantage point, as if viewers are looking up at the Christ figure, we see the orthogonals (diagonal lines that converge in a single point, in red) in the ceiling coffers. By tracing all the red lines, we see that the vanishing point, or point of convergence, is on the ledge upon which two church donors kneel.
Donatello’s “St. George and the Dragon” is a relief sculpture that depicts the Christian legend of St. George slaying a dragon to save a princess. Donatello employs perspective using various techniques: 1. The characters and elements are carved in varying degrees of high relief, which adds a sense of depth and three-dimensionality to the work. 2. Accurate proportions are used to give a sense of space and depth. Depth is suggested through optical qualities in the carving, which emphasize light and shadow. Along with the illusion of space, this work produces an illusion of real figures.
Ghiberti's artistic genius is reflected in his innovative use of perspective and his rendering of the three-dimensional form. He also considered the placement of a panel and planned the depth of carving accordingly, another of his innovations. Shallower reliefs appear in the bottom panels, with deeper reliefs at the top, adjustments that take into consideration the viewer's vantage point.
Chinese artists invented Atmospheric Perspective. This technique uses color and clarity to show distance. Objects farther away are lighter and less distinct, while nearer objects are darker and clearer.
Persian artists were innovating perspective through the use of surface decoration to indicate depth. Abd Allah Musawwir used flattened compartments filled with dazzling patterns to suggest the receding interior of a religious school. The artist also illustrated groups of stylized figures in varying sizes, to denote their proximity to the viewer.
@threadreaderapp unroll
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
Everything you think you know about American architecture is wrong.
Beyond the glass towers and suburban sprawl are buildings so stunning they could stand in Paris or Rome, yet most Americans don’t even know they exist.
Which of these surprised you? 🧵
1. The Woolworth Building – New York, NY (1913)
Once the tallest building in the world, its neo-Gothic details earned it the nickname “Cathedral of Commerce.”
2. Trinity Church – Boston, MA (1877)
Richardsonian Romanesque in its purest form—heavy stone walls, rounded arches, and a sense of permanence you can feel in your bones.
Imagine writing a book so dangerous, it made priests seethe, historians argue, and politicians quote it in Parliament.
That’s what Edward Gibbon did in 1776.
He didn’t just tell the story of how Rome fell... He explained how all great civilizations rot from within. 🧵👇
The Book: Six volumes of The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
He began with one chilling idea:
Rome didn’t fall because of some invading army.
It fell because it lost the will to survive.
Citizens gave up their freedoms for comfort.
Leaders chose applause over duty.
And religion became a tool of power not virtue.
Gibbon opens his history in the age of the Antonines when Rome looked invincible.
The empire stretched from Britain to Syria.
The roads were safe, taxes were stable, and emperors like Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius seemed wise and just.