a. foreground - portions of an image
closest to the viewer (usu. located at the bottom of the picture
plane in representational work )
b. middle ground - area between the
foreground and the background (usu. central portion of the picture
plane, containing the figure or object)
c. background - the part of a work that
recedes the most from the viewer (generally the upper part of a
representational work - although in a landscape,the sky can project
out over the viewer)
a. Atmospheric Perspective
1. softer edges, less value contrast, and less detail make
shapes and forms recede Elihu Vedder
Memory
1870 (larger)
2. reverse atmospheric perspective, used for images
extremely close to the viewer - the closest areas are blurred, and
the sharpest edges and strongest value contrasts are slightly
further away
b. Linear Perspective - visual phenomena concerning the
relative distance and position of objects; representing the spatial
relation of objects as they might appear to the eye; convergence of
parallel lines toward a vanishing point(s).
horizon - the point at which the ground and sky meet
eye level - the imaginary line one sees when one looks
straight ahead and from left to right
scale - objects close to us will appear larger than
objects of the same actual size that are far away
vanishing point - if extended far enough, the converging
parallel lines would seem to join and vanish from the viewers sight
convergence lines (also called orthagonals)-are
lines that converge at the vanishing point.
cone of vision - the area of acceptable distortion, usu.
in the center of the picture
point of view - shapes in the visual path change in
relation to our height or position; only one point of view in
traditional perspective because the viewer can only logically be in
one place
1. one-point perspective - all figures recede toward a
single vanishing point Ben Shahn,
East 12th Street 1946
2. two-point perspective - all extended parallel lines
converge toward either of two different, widely separated vanishing
points
3. multi-point perspective - skilled use of more
than two vanishing points (bird's eye, worms eye, etc.)
4. amplified perspective - object "recedes" toward the
vanishing point behind you (foreshortening)
5. multiple perspective - the representation of an object
from many view points George Braque
The Round Table, 1929 or Egyptian
Wall Painting The Sculptor Apuy
and his Wife, 1275 BC
c. Isometric Projection -Oriental spatial convention, the
lines and planes recede on the diagonal, but instead of drawing
closeer together remain parallel
