The Psychology of Perspective and Renaissance Art

 An experimental psychologist, Michael Kubovy recounts the lively history of the invention of perspective in the fifteenth century, and shows how, as soon as the invention spread, it was used to achieve subtle and fascinating aesthetic effects. Kubovy presents clearly the fundamental concepts of perspective and the reasons for its effectiveness; he draws on the latest laboratory research on how people perceive, and then develops a new theory to explain why Renaissance artists such as Leonardo and Mantegna used perspective in unorthodox ways that have puzzled art scholars. This theory illuminates the author's broader consideration of the evolution of art: he proposes a resolution of the debate between those who believe that the invention/discovery of perspective is a stage in the steady progress of art and those who believe that perspective is merely a conventional and arbitrary system for the representation of space.

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