Building pseudo-perspective sets by creating and modifying three-dimensional figures used in the trecento

Abstract

This study is part of a wider research project dealing with the expressive ability of systems of perspective. Under this premise we have been reflecting on the methods used by artists in the italian trecento to depict the third dimension. We have analysed a large number of works, with a twofold aim: Firstly, to obtain data that gives consistency and flexibility to a classification that will help us to typify perspective space in the era prior to “correct” perspective (linear or conical). Secondly, to extrapolate these features in building pseudo-perspective sets by creating and modifying three-dimensional computer-generated figures. This process has been used to extract diagrams that serve as a tool for exploring new ways of representing perspective that move beyond Euclidean geometry. With this aim, the article puts forward formal outlines of representations classified into several types, which are later transformed to build the actual sets.