RENAISSANCE

USING LINEAR PERSPECTIVE

RENAISSANCE

• The activity, spirit, or time of the great revival of art,

literature, and learning in Europe beginning in the 14th
century and extending to the 17th century, marking the
transition from the medieval to the modern world.
LINEAR PERSPECTIVE

• A mathematical system for creating illusion of space

and distance on a flat surface.
• Invented by Brunelleschi.
• Objects appear smaller in the distance.
MASACCIO, HOLY TRINITY

• Used linear perspective to

extend the length of the church
and make the tomb appear to
protrude from the wall.
BOTTICELLI,
ADORATION OF
THE MAGI
HOW LINEAR PERSPECTIVE WORKS.
Perspective drawing has
rules that must be followed
in order for it to work.
The basics of perspective
drawing are simple and
consist of 4 major parts.
Horizon Line
Vanishing Point
Edge Lines/Shapes
Depth Lines
Horizon Line
Where the land and sky appear to Sky
meet
It is usually a line across the entire
artwork
Horizon lines do not have to be flat
They can be near the top, bottom, or
middle of the picture plane

Horizon Line Land

Picture Plane
Vanishing Point
The point where objects come together
and appear to disappear
Vanishing Point
Vanishing Points are often on the
Horizon Line
An artwork can have more than one
vanishing point
Parallel lines will “converge” at the
vanishing point

Parallel Lines
Edge Lines/Shapes
The Object or edge of an object that Shape
will look three dimensional
Can be almost any shape or any
object
Shapes with straight lines are easier
to draw than curvy shapes
Can be placed anywhere on the
picture plane
Edge lines are more specific to 2
point perspective
Shape
Depth Lines
Depth Lines are the
lines that point back to
the vanishing point Depth Line
A straight line imagined
to be perpendicular to the
picture plane
Not all depth lines go all
of the way to the
vanishing point
They must stop when
they hit another
orthogonal or shape
They are what give the
shape “Depth”
Remember!
Not all depth lines will go all of These lines must
the way to the vanishing point. be parallel to the
Some will stop when they hit shape
other SHAPES or other depth
lines
Some will stop because most
shapes are not long enough to
appear to disappear

Still points to the

vanishing point
FIND THE FOUR
PARTS

Horizon Line
Edges/ Shape
Depth Lines
Vanishing point
DEMONSTRATING SPACE

• Perspective is one way to show space in artworks, or that

something is closer to us than other objects. Other ways of showing
space are:
• Overlapping
• Size
• Position
• Detail
OVERLAPPING
Placing one
object in front of
another.
The object on
top will appear
to be closer
 SIZE

Objects that are

closer appear larger
Even large buildings
will appear small in
the distance.
 POSITION
Objects lower on the
picture plane appear
closer than objects
closer to the top.
This is not always
true.
It usually is because
the sky is usually on
top
DETAIL

Objects with more

detail appear to be
closer.
The further away
things are the less
details we can see.
Think of words or
trees in the distance