Space!
While three-dimensional works of art (like sculpture) occupy
actual space, two-dimensional works of art create the illusion
of space (or depth) through five major methods:
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
overlapping.
vertical positioning.
relative size.
atmospheric perspective.
linear perspective.
Overlapping!
Artists use overlapping to
create the illusion of an object
in the foreground blocking our
view of an object in the
background. We perceive the
illusion of space because we
assume that one object is
behind the other.
Relative Size!
Artists can also create the
illusion of depth through
making some objects
smaller than others so
that we perceive them as
farther away from us. For
example, the relative
sizes of the house and
barn in Chagall s Rain
(1911) suggest that the
barn is in the distance,
because the barn, which
we would expect to be
about the same size as
the house, is smaller.
Vertical Positioning!
The vertical positions of
objects and figures also
contributes to the illusion
of space. In a painting like
Bruegel’s Netherlandish
Proverbs (1559), for
example, the figures that
appear closest to viewers
are those at the bottom of
the canvas.
Atmospheric
Perspective!
Atmospheric perspective makes objects appear to be far
away from the viewer because of lack of detail and lack of
intensity, just as the effect of atmospheric interference
makes real objects in the distance look indistinct.
In Cole s Home in the
Woods (1847),
atmospheric perspective
is evident in the lack of
detail in the mountains on
the left compared with
the landscape and
dwelling on the right.
Linear Perspective!
Linear perspective creates the illusion of depth through
the convergence of apparently parallel lines at a
vanishing point on the horizon.
Piero della Francesca s Ideal City (1470)
Linear Perspective!
The example below shows one-point linear perspective,
because the lines in the painting converge at a single
vanishing point (in the center of the round building).
Piero della Francesca s Ideal City (1470)
Linear Perspective!
Two-point
linear
perspective is
the use of two
vanishing
points in a
work of art.
In Hopper s House by the Railroad (1925), the lines on
the left of the house imply one vanishing point, while the
lines on the right side create a second vanishing point.
Identifying Methods of
Creating Depth !
Masaccio s Tribute Money (1427) demonstrates all five methods of
creating the illusion of depth. The human figures overlap one
another and represent different relative sizes. The mountains in
the background occupy a higher position in the painting than
objects in the foreground and lack detail due to the effects of
atmospheric perspective. Linear perspective is evident in the
geometric lines of the building, which converge at a single
vanishing point behind the head of Jesus.