Perspective

[Mortartube]

When did modern perspective first become used in painting and drawing and is it attributable to a single artist?

For instance, this Mediaeval picture is flat and has no modern style perspective. The barrel the king stands in is flat.

http://arthistory.uchicago.edu/graduate/mem/im ages/chronicles.jpg

But this modern picture illustrates the idea of more realistic perspective.

http://jhh.blogs.com/anthos/images/perspective _1.jpg

So who is responsible for our modern style and when didi it happen?

[swedeheart]

Hi Mortartube. I don't think anyone really knows but if you look under Early history here it is suggested that the awareness of perspective increased with the use of scenography. Seems plausible.

[jno]

Uccello was one of the first - look at the body in the foreground and the way the lances lying on the ground point to the same vanishing point

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb /4/4b/Uccello_Florentine_Troops.jpg/800px-Ucce llo_Florentine_Troops.jpg

(it's in the National Gallery in London and it still looks a bit wooden, but you can see he was getting there).

Perspective is only one way of looking, suited to a 2D view. Part of the goal of some 2oth century artists is to improve on it or do away with it - eg Picasso's portraits, which seem to be seen from different angles at once.

[swedeheart]

That's really striking (no pun intended) jno. And look at the knight on the ground, he looks as though the painter had used a wide-angle lens...!

[swedeheart]

(...er... or maybe not? But he does look as if the painter was trying to figure something out!)

[Mortartube]

Thank you all for your answers. Very interesting.