Optical Illusions

by Bruno Ernst

Optical illusions such as the illusory cube have been around for more than 150 years. Little wonder--they're downright fun to look at. Here's a wealth of examples sure to give you hours of visual enjoyment. 9" x 11 3/4". B&W & color illus.

Genres: Art

95 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1996

Reviews

[Jim Razinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much more technical than Adventures with Impossible Objects, Ernst (Hans de Rijk) talks extensively of the math, physics, anatomy, and history of optical illusions and impossible objects. Escher is perhaps the most famous artist associated with the impossible objects, but he was a late-comer both chronologically and in his own career. Oscar Reutersvärd created the first impossible tri-bar 24 years before Escher drew any, and the Penroses's work pre-dated Escher as well (their 1956 article "Impossible Objects: A Special Type of Visual Illusion" is reprinted in the text.) Ernst also explores other works from the 18th century back to the 15th. Some artists accidentally created impossibilities in their paintings, and some clearly did so deliberately. William Hogarth captioned one engraving, False perspective, 1754: "Whoever makes a DESIGN without the Knowledge of PERSPECTIVE will be liable to such Absurdities as are shewn in this Frontispiece."

Fascinating collection.