Brunelleschi, Linear Perspective and Early Renaissance Painting
In the early quattrocento (15th century), Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446) introduced a means of rendering the recession of space on a two-dimensional surface, which we now call linear perspective. In Brunelleschi’s technique, lines appear to converge at a single fixed point in the distance. This technique produces a convincing depiction of spatial depth on a flat surface. Dr. Cole focuses on Brunelleschi’s technique and investigates whether he invented it or re invented it from Classical Antiquity. The discussion analyzes some of the earliest paintings to employ linear perspective and traces its continued development into the 1500s.
