icons

Wed Dec 22 20:13:21 UTC 1999

With "reverse perspective", the vanishing point is
*you* - the viewer of the icon.

This is why you can see the left and right sides of a table,
as well as the front - sometimes even the *back* of a table!

Good example:

The Mystical Supper Icon.

It looks like the table is a half-round table.

But it's not!

The table is *actually* a *SQUARE* table!!

It echos that in heaven, nothing will be hidden.

There's also a famous account of life after death
from 1915 or 1916 from a young man that was in the hospital.
In his account of his experience, as he was
rising out of his body, he was able to see the furthest
distances away with all clarity to the smallest
speck of dust.  He could see the innermost desires
of the people around him, as nothing was hidden.  I believe
in it he also mentions seeing things from all angles
at once, with no confusion.

These things are related to iconography and the reverse
perspective.  It's also why the fingers are long and
slender on icons and typically, those depicted look
very light.  It's intentional.

If you have monospeaced font ready, I'll try to show
'reverse perspective:

KEY:
you = *

|
| = picture frame
|

EXAMPLES:

Regular perspective:

-
  -
     -
     |  -
*    |     -   VANISHING POINT
     |  -
     -
   -
-

Reverse perspective:

                          -
                        -
                      -
                    -  |
                  -    |
VANISHING POINT -  *   |
                  -    |
                    -  |
                      -
                        -
                          -

So, instead of your vision being compressed,
the furthur the distance appears to be in the
picture...

...your vision is *EXPANDED* beyond what you
can normally be able to see.

Hope this helps.

-Kenneth

--
-- Kenneth.Udut at SPCORP.COM
--