THE VANISHING POINT IS WITHIN YOU

In the Renaissance, the vanishing point was placed on the surface of the painting, or inside the painting, if you will.  The space of the painting then continued outward so as to include the viewer.  Whereas in Medieval painting,

“…the focus and vanishing point are in the spectator.”p11

As we saw in our coverage of Byzantine artists (see Byzantine Spacetime), their overall goal was to isolate the image on their paper from the world.  Since most of their images were religious, it was more sacred to separate the religious subject from the world.  And they achieved this separation by focusing solely on the forms and shapes they were drawing.

Because the Byzantine painters did not subscribe to a Cartesian perspective grid, their images were more internal.  They were interested in the idea.  As long as the idea was faithfully depicted, (in contrast to realistic depiction) then it was successful.  It is difficult for us to understand this internal sense of drawing that the Byzantines employed.

Marshall McLuhan:

“The Renaissance was unconsciously engaged in creating a pervasive visual space that was uniform, continuous and connected, but the Middle Ages has a very different kind of space as its psychic and social environment.”

“It was the idea rather than the psychological narrative connectives between figures that was central to Medieval communication.  Thus there was no need for a “rational” or continuous space in which the figures could find psychological interaction.”  p12

I place Transparent Drawing more within the Byzantine camp, rather than the Renaissance camp.  In TD, we are interested in only the object.  We are interested in the idea.  It is of zero importance if the object is shown realistically.  As long as the object is faithfully resolved, however the drawing looks, is successful.

As we draw transparently, let’s draw like a Byzantine.  Let’s place the vanishing point within us.

1.  McLuhan, Marshall and Harley Parker. Through the Vanishing Point. Harper and Row. New York. 1968.