Were Medieval Artists Pioneers in Visual Perception?
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Understanding Human Perception
Have you ever pondered how your eyes and brain interpret the world around you? For instance, why does the stunning full moon appear enormous in the sky but looks like a mere blur in photographs? This phenomenon can be attributed to linear perspective, which creates a disconnect between our visual experiences and what cameras capture. British artist David Hockney likens this discrepancy to the vision of a “paralyzed Cyclops.”
Linear perspective is a technique that illustrates three-dimensional objects in relation to their distance from an imagined observer. Developed in the 15th century by Italian Renaissance artists Filippo Brunelleschi and Leon Battista Alberti, this method relies on the physics of light passing through a pinhole. It’s the same perspective we see in photographs, where distant objects, like the moon, appear disproportionately small.
This raises the question of why our perception differs so significantly from the images captured by cameras.
The first video, Early Medieval Art and History, delves into the techniques and philosophies that shaped the art of the medieval period, highlighting how these artists approached perception in their work.
Linear Perspective Explained
In an artwork utilizing linear perspective, parallel lines converge at a single vanishing point on the horizon. An illustration from a textbook by the Dutch artist Hans Vredeman de Vries (1604–05) exemplifies this concept:
This technique is effective for depicting the architecture of buildings and serves as the foundation for most architectural drawings. However, it limits our visual experience, akin to wearing blinders. As our field of view expands, images tend to warp and distort.
Understanding Distortion in Art
Our vision extends in a semicircle of about 180 degrees, yet linear perspective only appears natural within a narrow 50-degree zone. Beyond this, depth perception diminishes, causing objects to appear unnaturally elongated at the edges. This distortion is especially pronounced in images taken with fisheye lenses, which can encompass a field of view up to 280 degrees.
To illustrate this, consider three representations of a single scene:
- an artistic rendering reflecting typical human perception,
- a fisheye photograph, and
- a photograph adhering to linear perspective.
These images, sourced from a study in the journal Vision (2018) by researchers from the Fovolab at Cardiff School of Art and Design, highlight the peculiarities of both photographic methods. Surprisingly, the central zone of linear perspective doesn’t accurately reflect how we perceive the world.
In a subsequent paper, the same researchers concluded that medieval art techniques were more aligned with human visual perception than those of their Renaissance counterparts or modern photography.
Rethinking Medieval Art
Isn't medieval art often viewed as somewhat rudimentary? To illustrate the contrast between medieval and Renaissance religious artwork, let's compare Duccio di Buoninsegna's Transfiguration (1308–11) with Pietro Perugino’s Christ Handing the Keys to St. Peter (1481–1482).
While Perugino’s painting is polished and intricate, it can feel overly perfect and detached. In contrast, Duccio’s approach involves resizing figures to draw the viewer's focus inward toward Jesus, the central figure. Despite being physically farther away, Jesus is portrayed larger, capturing our emotional attention. This technique mirrors how humans naturally focus on significant elements in their field of vision.
To further this point, consider the original Transfiguration alongside a digitally altered version that conforms to linear perspective.
The modified version loses the original's emotional impact, resembling a mundane business meeting where it’s unclear what to focus on, despite adhering to optical laws.
“Human vision is fixation-driven, while linear perspective ignores fixation,” notes researcher Robert Pepperell. “Human vision is dynamic, constantly adapting as we shift our focus.”
In essence, medieval artists were not primitive but rather adept at capturing the psychological experience of human perception.
The second video, Rick Steves Art of the Middle Ages, explores the significance of medieval art in shaping our understanding of human vision and perception.
In conclusion, medieval artists employed a remarkably flexible approach, embracing a unique artistic interpretation of visual experience that defies rigid optical conventions.