Painting I / Pictorial Space and the Picture Plane
Practice question · Select all that apply

Which of these are depth cues that work without any perspective construction?

Hints
  1. Three of the four were in use long before 1425; one is the construction itself.
  2. Which one needs a horizon and a vanishing point?
Show the answer
  • A. A regular texture compressing as the surface recedes
  • B. One object interrupting the contour of another
  • C. Distant objects rendered with lower contrast and cooler hue
Why

The fourth is the construction rather than a cue independent of it. The others need no geometry at all, which is why painting outside the European perspective tradition builds convincing depth without a vanishing point anywhere, and why landscape survived the abandonment of perspective while architectural painting did not.

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