Perspective machine
Optical instrument used by artists From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A perspective machine is an optical instrument designed to help artists create perspective drawings.[1] The earliest machines were built centuries ago when the theory of perspective was being worked out, and modern versions are still[2] in use.
Timeline
- 1510: Leonardo da Vinci's Draftsman drawing an armillary sphere shows an early form of perspective machine in use.[3]
- 1525: Albrecht Dürer, in his illustration Man drawing a lute, shows an artist using a perspective machine to create a drawing. The machine consists of a wooden frame with a taut string passing through it to represent the viewer's line of sight.[4] Dürer built his second model of such a machine in the same year.[5]
- c.1765: Scottish engineer James Watt designs a machine based on an easel, with a pantograph mechanism allowing the artist to trace an object using a sight arm and transfer the movement of the sight to a pen drawing on paper. Watt stated that his machine was based on an invention by a Mr Hurst, who lived in India.[6][7]
- 1763: Philosopher Thomas Reid uses a machine to investigate his theory of perception.[8]
- 1825: English inventor Francis Ronalds patents two perspective tracing machines. One generated an accurate drawing of an object or scene in nature and the other created a perspective view of an object from drawings of the plan and elevations. Ronalds manufactured the machines and sold several hundreds of them.[9][10]
References
External links
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