Introduction

Perspective is a derivation of the Latin verb perspicere which signifies to see clearly, to see well. The ancients therefore defined perspective as the science to see well, ars bene videndi, in example to judge objects correctly by the means of the visual impression. The Greeks called this science optics. Still, since all those definitions differ from the present notions of perspective, one should adopt the Arabic expression De aspectibus , science of appearances, which reflects best the meaning of perspective in antiquity. Presenting the impact of perspective in art requires therefore to subdivide the study in different periods. At first, I will look for the origin of perspective, starting at the first known artistic testimonies. I will show that perspective originally emerges out of a tactile-muscular intuition and that its evolution throughout Antiquity is comparable to the learning process of a child. Since no progress was done in perspective in the Middle-Age, I will concentrate on the next important Period, the Renaissance, where artistic attempts gradually progress towards the concept of linear perspective. Once perspective has been mastered, enabling therefore the artist to represent photographic reality, I will look for the roles of perspective in art.

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