A Classification of Perceptual Corrections of Perspective Distortions in Renaissance Painting

Abstract

In an attempt to address major debates in perspective studies, this study brings perceptual research to bear on the problem of the status of perspective in the Renaissance. Between one school that sees perspective as mathematically rigorous but imperfectly applied and another that regards perspective as an incoherent discipline, this study argues that errors in the use of perspective are consistent and can be classified into two tendencies: first, the tendency to normalize a foreshortened form towards frontality and, second, the tendency to flatten a three-dimensional object to reveal its hidden sides. These tendencies find confirmation both in the Renaissance doctrine of the judgment of the eye ( giudizio dell'occhio) as well as in Gestalt-oriented perceptual research. Numerous examples of their application are given with regard to the representation of human figures, architecture, and the relation of figures to space.