Can artistic methods be used to improve the perception of depth in pictures?: an investigation into two methods

What is the best way to depict visual space? Experts argue mathematical perspective is the only accurate method. But artists have pointed out discrepancies between mathematical perspective projections and the way space appears in visual experience, especially when depicting wide angles of view. Mathematical perspective depictions of wide-angle views require uncomfortably close viewing distances or impractical degrees of enlargement, which means they are rarely seen under optimum conditions. In this study we created an artistic rendering of a hemispherical space encompassing the full visual field and compared it to a number of mathematical perspective projections of the same space by asking participants to rate which best matched what they saw. When viewed at a distance rated by participants as comfortable we found the artistic rendering performed significantly better than the mathematically generated projections. But when we repeated the experiment at a closer viewing distance, rated by participants as less comfortable, the mathematical perspective pictures performed better while the artistic rendering did significantly worse. We conclude the artistic rendering better represents the visual field’s appearance in pictures to be viewed at more comfortable distances. This undermines the claim that mathematical perspective is the only accurate way to represent visual space.

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