Lesson plan
Reverse perspective
Reverse perspective, also called inverse perspective, inverted perspective, divergent perspective, or Byzantine perspective, is a form of perspective drawing where the objects depicted in a scene are placed between the projective point and the viewing plane. Objects further away from the viewing plane are drawn as larger, and closer objects are drawn as smaller, in contrast to the more conventional linear perspective where closer objects appear larger. Lines that are parallel in three-dimensional space are drawn as diverging against the horizon, rather than converging as they do in linear perspective. Technically, the vanishing points are placed outside the painting with the illusion that they are "in front of" the painting. The name Byzantine perspective comes from the use of this perspective in Byzantine and Russian Orthodox icons; it is also found in the art of many pre-Renaissance cultures, and was sometimes used in Cubism and other movements of modern art, as well as in children's drawings. The reasons for the convention are still debated among art historians; since the artists involved in forming the convention did not have access to the more realistic linear perspective convention, it is not clear how deliberate the effects achieved were.
Article summary
Reverse perspective, also called inverse perspective, inverted perspective, divergent perspective, or Byzantine perspective, is a form of perspective drawing where the objects depicted in a scene are placed between the projective point and the viewing plane. Objects further away from the viewing plane are drawn as larger, and closer objects are drawn as smaller, in contrast to the more conventional linear perspective where closer objects appear larger. Lines that are parallel in three-dimensional space are drawn as diverging against the horizon, rather than converging as they do in linear perspective. Technically, the vanishing points are placed outside the painting with the illusion that they are "in front of" the painting. The name Byzantine perspective comes from the use of this perspective in Byzantine and Russian Orthodox icons; it is also found in the art of many pre-Renaissance cultures, and was sometimes used in Cubism and other movements of modern art, as well as in children's drawings. The reasons for the convention are still debated among art historians; since the artists involved in forming the convention did not have access to the more realistic linear perspective convention, it is not clear how deliberate the effects achieved were.
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.