[bach]

There is anew theory according to which the old masters of painting where actually "cheating" when they created their masterpieces. Always wonder how they could paint such perfect and realistic faces, well actuallly they used concave mirrors to reflect the images of faces into the canvas, an then well, like any coloring book they just painted on top of the reflection.


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/01/ ... 6814.shtml

Once Hockney figured out how the pictures were made, he set out to discover where and when the use of optics began. In his studio in Los Angeles, he built his great wall of hundreds of paintings spanning hundreds of years.

“We did come to about 1420, and realized something happens,” he says.

What happens is a sudden appearance of realism. Before 1420, faces were idealized; immediately after, they were true to life. Before, garments were flat and formless. After, they were vivid and photographic.


As a scientist, he thought, "If this is true, I can prove it." The first painting that caught his eye was the 1543 "Wedding Portrait" by Lorenzo Lotto.

“He made a mistake. That's what told me a lens was used. This central pattern of this geometrical tablecloth goes out of focus,” says Falco. “Your eye doesn't naturally see something out of focus. The only way you could see this feature is if you'd seen something with a lens.”

He also found more evidence in the portrait of Cardinal Albergati by van Eyck: “This is one of the rare examples where a preliminary drawing exists along with the painting. I looked at this and said, 'My God, this is good enough to be a photocopy.’”

“So let's see how actually perfect it is," he adds. "I'll blow up the drawing to the same scale as the painting, and when I overlay them, every feature, every wrinkle, every hair is accurate.”

Except for the ear: “It's completely off. What if he bumped his easel when he's doing this? Watch the ear. It's perfect.”

Then there are all those left-handed people who suddenly showed up in paintings - Hockney's smoking gun. If you just use a lens alone, left becomes right, and vice-versa.