| C. Dyer | The Science of Art | Winter 2005 |
E-mail: dyer@cs.wisc.edu
Office Hours: 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. Tuesdays and 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. Thursdays in the Faculty Office, and by appointment
Telephone: 055 442987 (apartment)
340 4962637 (mobile)
Course Description
An introduction to advances during the Italian Renaissance that
enabled new levels of realism in painting. Exploration of
topics related to the creation, perception, and analysis
of the visual arts, including the development of
perspective by Brunelleschi; Leonardo da Vinci's
analysis of the science of light, shading and color;
and the invention of optical devices such as the camera
obscura to aid in visualizing natural
appearance. The course will look at these developments in terms
of the artistic techniques and history, scientific advances
in math and physics, and
the biological and psychological aspects of human visual perception of
pictures. Investigation of David Hockney's claim that
early Renaissance painters used optical devices.
Schedule
Textbooks
- The Science of Art: Optical Themes in Western Art from Brunelleschi to Seurat,
M. Kemp, Yale University Press, New Haven, Conn., 1990
- Leonardo on Painting, M. Kemp, ed., Yale University Press, New Haven, Conn., 1989
Other Readings
Some other readings will be available on the web in the
Readings on Reserve list.
Use the login name dyer and the password given in class.
Other readings will be put in the course folder
My Documents -> Dyer - Science of Art on the villa computers.
Grading
- Midterm Exam: about 30%
- Final Project: about 30%
- Homework Assignments: about 30%
- Class Attendance and Participation: about 10%
Midterm Examination
- Midterm Exam: Thursday, February 24 in class
- The Midterm Exam and
associated image of G. Bellini's Blood of the Redeemer
- The Midterm Exam Solution
and the associated solution on the
image of G. Bellini's Blood of the Redeemer
- The exam will include the readings assigned up to February 8, as listed on the course
readings page. It will also
cover topics covered in class but not included in the readings.
Questions will be short answer, from one word to a couple of paragraphs long.
- Slides from lectures are available in the course folder on villa computers at
My Documents -> Dyer - Science of Art -> Lectures
- Sample Questions
- Given an image of a painting drawn with perfect linear perspective, and
the painting's dimensions, determine
how far away (in centimeters) you should stand, and how you should direct
your gaze (i.e., the height of your eye and the centric point) for optimal viewing?
- How many vanishing points can there be in a perspective drawing?
- True or False: Every set of lines that are parallel in a 3D scene project
in perspective to a set of lines that intersect at a single vanishing point.
- Define a camera obscura.
- What problem arises in wide-angle perspective views in terms of distortions
on the picture plane? How could this distortion be avoided by a painter?
- Describe two main reasons why it has been argued that using linear perspective
for making pictures is "artificial."
- Give one reason for and one reason against the case for perspective being "robust".
- What was Leonardo's favorite flavor of gelato?
- Describe two "problems of perspective" that Leonardo identified.
- Draw a picture of a cube so that there are two vanishing points.
- True or False: A sphere in 3D will always project under linear perspective to a circle.
- Under what conditions and why will a portrait's eyes seem to follow you as
you move around it?
- What is anamorphosis? Give an example.
Attendance Policy
Attendance at all classes and required site visit activities are mandatory.
Absences will affect your final grade.
Academic Integrity
All examinations and assignments must
be done individually unless stated explicitly otherwise. Cheating and
plagiarism will be dealt with in accordance with university
procedures (see the
Academic Misconduct Guide).
All sources used, including web pages and individuals consulted, must be cited.
If you have any questions on this, ask the instructor before you act.
Acknowledgements
This course could not have been developed without the generous help from many people.
In particular, powerpoint slides and other course materials have been made available
to me by Bill Warren (Brown), Marc Levoy (Stanford), Fredo Durand (MIT),
David Stork (Ricoh), and Pupa De Stasio (Wisconsin). Others
whose materials have been a source for my course's development include
Antonio Criminisi (Microsoft), Steve Seitz (Washington), Jan Koenderink (Utrecht),
and Srinivasa Narasimhan (CMU).
Web Page
http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~dyer/ah336/
Slideshow
