Abstract
Perspective plays an important role in the creation and appreciation of depth on paper and canvas. Paintings of extant scenes are interesting objects for studying perspective, because such paintings provide insight into how painters apply different aspects of perspective in creating highly admired paintings. In this regard the paintings of the Piazza San Marco in Venice by Canaletto in the eighteenth century are of particular interest because of the Piazza’s extraordinary geometry, and the fact that Canaletto produced a number of paintings from similar but not identical viewing positions throughout his career. Canaletto is generally regarded as a great master of linear perspective. Analysis of nine paintings shows that Canaletto almost perfectly constructed perspective lines and vanishing points in his paintings. Accurate reconstruction is virtually impossible from observation alone because of the irregular quadrilateral shape of the Piazza. Use of constructive tools is discussed. The geometry of Piazza San Marco is misjudged in three paintings, questioning their authenticity. Sizes of buildings and human figures deviate from the rules of linear perspective in many of the analysed paintings. Shadows are stereotypical in all and even impossible in two of the analysed paintings. The precise perspective lines and vanishing points in combination with the variety of sizes for buildings and human figures may provide insight in the employed production method and the perceptual experience of a given scene.
Highlights
Linear perspective is a method of creating the illusion of depth on a flat surface
A perspective space with such characteristics has been proposed as a model for visual space (Erkelens, 2015, 2017)
The consequence of applying this type of perspective is that these painters could not make use of optical projection tools
Summary
Linear perspective is a method of creating the illusion of depth on a flat surface. A recent study showed that a number of famous painters, known for their. The style of painting was introduced in Italy in the late seventeenth century by Gaspare Vanvitelli, a Dutch painter born as Caspar van Wittel in Amersfoort in the Netherlands (Cursi, 2002; Kemp, 1990) Painters such as Giovanni Paolo Panini, Giovanni Battista Piranesi and Giovanni Antonio Canal, better known as Canaletto, are famous vedutisti. Their use of linear perspective relative to visual rather than physical space (Erkelens, 2016) questions claims that several vedutisti used the camera obscura and camera lucida for creating their masterpieces (Facos, 2011; Hockney, 2001; Kemp, 1990; Lüthy, 2005; Steadman, 2001). Analysis included the accuracy and precision of perspective lines, vanishing points as well as those of sizes and shadows of buildings and people
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