The Poetics of Perspective

by James Elkins

Perspective has been a divided subject, orphaned among various disciplines from philosophy to gardening. In the first book to bring together recent thinking on perspective from such fields as art history, literary theory, aesthetics, psychology, and the history of mathematics, James Elkins leads us to a new understanding of how we talk about pictures. Elkins provides an abundantly illustrated history of the theory and practice of perspective. Looking at key texts from the Renaissance to the present, he traces a fundamental historical change that took place in the way in which perspective was conceptualized; first a technique for constructing pictures, it slowly became a metaphor for subjectivity. That gradual transformation, he observes, has led to the rifts that today separate those who understand perspective as a historical or formal property of pictures from those who see it as a linguistic, cognitive, or epistemological metaphor. Elkins considers how the principal concepts of perspective have been rewritten in work by Erwin Panofsky, Hubert Damisch, Martin Jay, Paul Ricoeur, Jacques Lacan, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and E. H. Gombrich. The Poetics of Perspective illustrates that perspective is an unusual kind of it exists as a coherent idea, but no one discipline offers an adequate exposition of it. Rather than presenting perspective as a resonant metaphor for subjectivity, a painter's tool without meaning, a disused historical practice, or a model for vision and representation, Elkins proposes a comprehensive revaluation. The perspective he describes is at once a series of specific pictorial decisions and a powerful figure for our knowledge of the world.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art History

344 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

James Elkins (1955 – present) is an art historian and art critic. He is E.C. Chadbourne Chair of art history, theory, and criticism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He also coordinates the Stone Summer Theory Institute, a short term school on contemporary art history based at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Reviews

[Ignacio Luna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would recommend basic knowledge of literary theory and art history, especially Renaissance, before reading. Surprisingly, not as much needed on perspective method
Good for getting your bearings on the diverse academic thought around perspective, as well as a critical history of the origins of perspective. Not sure if I agree with the pessimistic outlook on the modern state of perspective but it creates an interesting narrative.
The writing itself is surprisingly readable and well organized, but dense with theory.
Ultimately it was thought provoking and inspiring in its multidisciplinary approach. But it's a bit out of date, too brief on some topics, and could really use more and better (colored) photographs of the art.
For anybody curious this book seems to be free to skim on Google books.
I would also recommend Kim H Veltman's Sources and Literature of perspective, both of which are available as free PDFs online, although unfortunately unillustrated.
For a more up-to-date reading on the origins of perspective I would point towards The Mirror, the Window, and the Telescope by Samuel Y. Edgerton, though I haven't checked it out yet.
Also, hello to anybody else who ended up here on a recommendation from the perspective section of Bruce McEvoy's handprint.com

[Chrisanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating- but overwhelming.

[Frightful_elk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of interesting ideas.

[Alex Bigney · Rating 4 out of 5]

fascinating book on perspective and its dimensions...