Renaissance Linear Perspective

Timeline

1. c. 1415–1420Florence · FlorenceBrunelleschi demonstrated the principle of single-point linear perspective before the Florence Baptistery using mirror-reflection experiments, laying the theoretical groundwork for the mathematization of space in Renaissance painting.
2. 1421–1430Florence · FlorenceMasaccio systematically employed linear perspective in frescoes such as the Trinity in Santa Maria Novella, Florence, using architectural framing and a vanishing point to create deep space, marking perspective's transition from experiment to mature painting practice.
3. 1435–1500Italy · ItalyLeon Battista Alberti published De Pictura in 1435, systematically expounding linear perspective in writing; thereafter perspective became the standard mode of spatial organization in Renaissance and Baroque painting and spread across Europe.