Beyond Perspective

Geometries of Absolute Measure in Renaissance Italy
1. Auflage 2027
ISBN: 978-90-485-6838-3
Verlag: Taylor & Francis

Buch, Englisch, 200 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm

Beyond Perspective challenges traditional narratives linking Renaissance linear perspective to scientific revolution, arguing that orthographic plans and military perspectives - not linear perspective- were the true geometric tools driving technological advancement from 1400-1700.

This book provides a groundbreaking reinterpretation of the relationship between geometric techniques and scientific knowledge in early modern Europe. By examining model making, orthographic plans, and military perspectives as ‘techniques of absolute measure,’ readers will gain fresh insights into how geometry connected to technology and practical knowledge. Moving beyond both scientistic celebrations and postmodern critiques, it offers a balanced analysis that reconnects geometric practice to civil and military engineering projects.

Intended for scholars and advanced students in art history, history of science, history of technology, and Renaissance studies it is also suitable for graduate-level study and will appeal to researchers interested in the intersection of visual culture, scientific knowledge, and the practical applications of geometric methods in early modern Europe.

Zielgruppe

Academic

Autoren/Hrsg.

Verstegen, Ian

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Europäische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Kunst Kunstgeschichte Kunstgeschichte: Renaissance, Manierismus
• Geisteswissenschaften Kunst Kunst, allgemein Kunsttechniken & Prinzipien
• Geisteswissenschaften Kunst Kunstformen, Kunsthandwerk Zeichnung und Zeichnen

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction The Edgerton Thesis An Ottoman Parable For Gradualism, Against Revolution What Constituted Progress in the Early Modern Period? Obliquity and Transcription Structure of the Book

1. Fictive Perspective versus Transcriptive Reality Masaccio’s Trinity: The Anti-Canon of Perspective Two Primary Perspective Constructions Print versus Manuscript

2. Putting Perspective in its Place The Objectivity of Geometry The Objectivity of Sight

The Objectivity of Pictorial Recognition

The Relativity of Perspective The Engineer’s Critique of Perspective

‘Inverted’ Perspective

3. From Transcription to Absolute Measure The Martial Mandate The Slow Fuse of Progress The Technologization of the Drawing Ad Hoc Design

4. Plans, Elevations and Ichnographic Plans The Rise of Orthography Coordinating Orthographic Orders The Ubiquity of Orthography Transcriptive Elements in Perspective Maps

5. Architectural Models Advantages of Models Military Models Making Models

6. The Military Engineer’s Perspective Parallels, Infinity & History The Emergence of Military Perspective Map Use Drawing Machines

Conclusion

Bibliography

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Ian Verstegen is Associate Director of Visual Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, USA. His research focuses on the history, theory and historiography of early modern and modern art. He is the author of Federico Barocci and the Science of Drawing in Early Modern Italy (2019).