[MR] detailed discussion of period optics

[Michael Houghton]

Howdy!

Right up front, let me be clear that I'm not tryint to pick on Aelfwynn
for mentioning this site...it has its value, but that value can be obscured
by the axe being ground there.

On Tue, Jul 29, 2003 at 10:14:26AM -0400, Michelle L. McDaniel wrote:
> Hey all!
> 
> I don't know how many of you have heard about this book and website, but I
> got it at work and thought I'd pass it on, as it was really interesting.
> 
> Secret Knowledge: The lost techniques of the old masters 
>   http://www.optics.arizona.edu/ssd/FAQ.html 

This site is put up by someone who espouses the theory that old masters
used mirrors and lenses to project an image onto their canvas instead of
copying by eye directly. The book in question is quite partisan on the
question; opinions on the accuracy of the claims is quite divided.

I'm trying real hard to not imply a personal position on the subject.
I have read enough to make my skept-o-meter twitch real hard.
> 
> This discusses the use of various optical devices (concave and convex
> lenses, etc.) to aid the painting of many well-known Renaissance pictures.

...the hypothetical use of optical devices... As best I can tell from what
I have read, the case is far from proven either way.
> 
> This is of interest to lots of people because there are links to photos of
> the paintings mentioned throughout the website, that are fairly crisp, so
> costuming details are easily discernable.

The links to paintings are kind of obscured by the overuse of text color
(that matches the standard link color). You may have to hunt around a bit.

yours,
Herveus
-- 
Michael and MJ Houghton   | Herveus d'Ormonde and Megan O'Donnelly
herveus at radix.net         | White Wolf and the Phoenix
Bowie, MD, USA            | Tablet and Inkle bands, and other stuff
                          | http://www.radix.net/~herveus/