This unit is designed for eighth grade and high school art students. It is primarily a unit for a studio art course. The activities are designed to teach the rules of perspective in order to help the students develop drawing skills. Further, the activities, by focusing on obtaining illusionary effects, illustrate some curious applications of the rules of perspective. Alongwith learning the rules, the students are informed about how the rules can be manipulated and they will then have the opportunity to develope their imaginative and creative abilities.
In order to make these activities more meaningful, some background in historical perspective is useful. The unit paper starts with a brief sketch stating in broad strokes, the major differences between Medieval and Renaissance art. The paper continues with a scaled down history of the discovery of perspective and finally, the paper is completed with a brief explanation and exhibition of trompe l’oeil or illusionistic art work from the fifteenth to the seventeenth century.
(figure available in print from)
(figure available in print from)
