A Matter of Life and Depth: Conveying Space (Part 1)

Since the beginning of art, a challenge that artists have had to overcome is the question of how to convey a sense of space within a piece, in order to fit more information or elements into the work of art. Many answers and devices have been found throughout history, and we will explore some of them today.

Some key terms.

- Illusion of Space By Overlapping
- Illusion of Space by Vertical Location
- Illusion of Space by Aerial Perspective
- Illusion of Space by Linear Perspective


 We will now take a look at some examples .

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One way to achieve the Illusion of Space is by Overlapping. This photograph of the Pyramids of Giza is an example. The pyramids overlap and thus appear to be more in the foreground, thus, closer to the viewer in space.

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 Another way to convey space is by Vertical Location. Generally speaking, humans perceive that which is higher in the picture plane as being farther away in space, and artists have long used this device to convey space this way.

This technique was used extensively in India as part of the Mughal style (Above is a painting by Basawan). Below is another example of space by Vertical Location by a similarly famous artist.

The artist would have been credited, but he could not be found.

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Another way to convey space is by Aerial Perspective or Atmospheric Perspective. The latter term more accurately describes the logic behind this device. Atmospheric perspective relies on the fact that objects farther away in space are more obscured by the atmosphere, are lighter in value, and are less contrasted with less distinctive edges. The photograph below is an example of this.

The fog obscures the objects farther away, making them less contrasted and more blurry. There is no question as to which tree is closer.  

This phenomenon can be used very effectively to convey space.

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Linear perspective is the device to show space that takes advantage of the fact that parallel lines, as they recede into space, appear to converge. The image below is a basic yet accurate example of this fact. 

The side lines of the road and the middle yellow lines are parallel, yet they appear

to converge to a point in the distance, thus creating a sense of space.

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Next, we will discuss perspective in more detail.

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