The Mathematics of Painting Helmer ASLAKSEN Dept. of Mathematics National Univ. of Singapore
Giotto, The Flight into Egypt, c1313 Notice how the trees are the same size
Lorenzetti, The Presentation in the Temple, c1342 Notice how the tiles get smaller
Masaccio, Trinity, 1427 One of the first perspective pictures
The pavement problem CD=distance from picture to eye
Where’s the best view point? 174cm above, 770cm away
Hong Sek Chern, Pigeonholes, 1996 Use this to find out where to stand
False viewpoints Pozzo’s ceiling (1694) and cupola (1685) in St. Ignatius, Rome
Anamorphic art Holbein, The Ambassadors, 1533
Is there perspective in Chinese paintings? Multiple viewpoints, Chen Chong Swee, Snowscape, 1993 Raphael, The School of Athens, 1511
Leonardo, The Last Supper, c1497 The perspective is an integral part of the painting
Changing views on perspective The different perspectives are an integral part of the painting Tan Chwee Seng, I Think Hence I Am, 1989 Montemayor, Barangay Rotunda, 1992
Dürer at the Singapore Art Museum Dürer, 1527 Teaching aid or tool for artists?
Perspective at SAM Ye Shufang, Mathematical Ambiguity, 2002.
What else to see at SAM? Tessellations
More to see at SAM! Kaleidoscopes
Even more to do at SAM! Polyhedra