On the Use of Optical Devices by Renaissance Painters - Part 4 of 5

Learn more about the Sunday at the Met lecture series: http://www.metmuseum.org/events/lectures

Part of the World Science Festival held in New York City from May 28--June 1, 2008, the afternoon program explores the fascinating relationship between science and art. World-renowned scientists, including researchers from the Met and from Harvard University, a Nobel Laureate chemist, and a physicist, give talks concerning the application of scientific research on works of art. Marco Leona, David H. Koch Scientist in Charge, Department of Scientific Research, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, introduces the program.

Learn more about the World Science Festival:
http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/

On the Use of Optical Devices by Renaissance Painters
Charles M. Falco, professor, College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona

Category:

Education

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• optical

[robitusson]

Previously the lecture states that the artist would just mark in the key features, then work from life. Here focussing is 'evidence' that lenses were used, but this would mean the image was copied exactly from the projection! Just another inconsistency in the whole maybe/ maybe not pseudo-historical research.

Falco says "We need to look for the right things to look for" i.e. we need to find 'evidence' to shoehorn into our theory, which is exactly what's going on.

[KPattonArt123]

Also, at 6:05 readjusting the lens totally changed the drawing of the drapery. And it wasn't a slight shift, it was an enormous change. And that's only on a small part of the painting, only a small part of the drapery. The lens would have to be readjusted many times, which would have distorted the drawing even more. If he traced at all, it would have been upon a vertical piece of glass, which doesn't need refocusing and continually losing the drawing.

[KPattonArt123]

4:10 shows an area of a painting with a hard edge, and an area with a soft edge, and says that varying edges shows he must have seen a projected image. But the use of hard and soft edges is a core to realistic painting. The basic principle taught was that high contrasted areas produce hard edges, and low contrast edges produce soft of lost edges. The drapery he shows is low contrast/soft edges up top, and high contrast hard edges at the bottom.This shows a conceptualized idea of selective focus