MASTERPIECE

Foreshortening is a complicated technical achievement. Because the boy’s right leg is shown shorter than it really is, the viewer gets the impression that the figure has swung his leg backwards and is walking. It is a form of optical illusion that gives a two-dimensional image a three-dimensional effect. During the Renaissance, many artists became interested in linear perspective, because they wanted to depict reality as convincingly as possible. By applying foreshortening in combination with light and shadow, a flat image suggests depth, as in the real world. The Italian painter Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506) was one of the first artists to work with this technique to suggest an illusion of depth in his work. One famous work is the Lamentation of Christ, in which Mantegna depicted Christ’s body, from the feet to the head, completely foreshortened.