Writing

Classical-Painting

Velázquez's Las Meninas

By placing the horizon line lower on the picture plane than the standing figures in the painting, Velázquez was adjusting for this inconsistency and creating the illusion that the horizon line of the painting is consistent with the actual eye-level of the King standing in front of the painting ...

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Vermeer and the Camera Obscura, Part One

In contrast, the image of the projection in a camera obscura is fairly insensitive to such faults. Many of the defects that are disturbing in a telescope optic are barely–or not at all– perceptible in the projecting optic of the camera. An unbiased viewer with no concept of a perfect optic might eve…

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