Yassin Oulad Daoud L&S Arts & Humanities
Digital Analysis of How Linear Perspective Views Transform Real Space
From the 15th century onward, painters and architects produced views of real urban spaces like city squares using linear perspective. While it is universally accepted that linear perspective allowed these artists to imitate reality to a high degree, scholarship has largely overlooked the fact that these views artificially rectified the often irregular layout of the urban spaces they depict. My project seeks to discover whether there is a systematic difference between real urban spaces and the way in which they were depicted in the age of linear perspective drawing. With digital image processing, any drawing or painting may be compared to a photographic image of the actual space from the same viewpoint; but replicating these arbitrary viewpoints would require a 3D model of the space. Using the Capitoline Square in Rome as a case study, I plan to travel there to obtain a 3D model of the space using photogrammetry and use it to analyze the many artistic depictions of the square that were produced in early modern Europe.
Message To Sponsor
I want to express my deepest appreciation to my donor for allowing me to embark on this project, which will allow me to develop my research skills and bring personal fulfillment while contributing knowledge to the fields of art history and digital humanities. The grant has allowed me to take on more ambitious research and has shown me that my ideas are valuable to others. The experience of carrying out a funded research project that requires travel and extensive planning is a big step for me on my journey toward further research in graduate school and beyond.