Traité de perspective

The Traité de perspective (1560) is a treatise by Jean Cousin the Elder, a French painter and engraver. This work summarizes his knowledge of art, science, and geometry, reflecting his diverse accomplishments which also included tapestry, stained-glass design, sculpture, and book illustration.1

Perspective is a method used to graphically depict three-dimensional objects and spatial relationships on a two-dimensional surface. In Western art, illusions of depth are typically created using linear perspective, where parallel lines appear to converge at vanishing points as they recede into the distance. This system was mathematically codified during the Italian Renaissance by artists like Filippo Brunelleschi and Leon Battista Alberti. While linear perspective dominated Western art for centuries, it was challenged and abandoned by movements like Cubism in the 20th century.2