DWine Insight: Anamorphosis...who's that?

Thank you for stopping by my blog. This is my first dip into the blogging trench, started out of my curiosity to know what actually is a blog. I try to put here my readings from various sources; books, blogs, sites. I also grab stuff from here & there and try to showcase it in my own style here. If you'd like my scribblings, please subscribe to my full text RSS feeds.

Currently I am experimenting a few new features on my blog, like Peekaboo and Post Summary; the reason for the slight distortion you see. I am hoping to frame up these soon, please bear with me!

Anamorphosis...who's that?

By DWiner

Are you able to read this text? Yes, no, mixed reactions? Well, this is Anamorphosis.

Anamorphosis is a distorted projection or perspective requiring the viewer to use special devices or occupy a specific vantage point to reconstitute the image. "Ana - morphosis" comes from the Greek words meaning "formed again."

There are two main types of anamorphosis: Perspective (oblique) and Mirror (catoptric). Examples of perspectival anamorphosis date to the early Renaissance (15th Century), whereas examples of mirror anamorphosis (or catoptric anamorphosis) occurred at the time of the baroque (17th century).

With mirror anamorphosis, a conical or cylindrical mirror is placed on the drawing or painting to transform a flat distorted image into a three dimensional picture that can be viewed from many angles. The deformed image is painted on a plane surface surrounding the mirror. By looking uniquely into the mirror, the image appears undeformed. Current in the 1600s and 1700s, this process of anamorphosis made it possible to diffuse caricatures, erotic and scatologic scenes and scenes of sorcery for a confidential public.

These "anamorphoscopes" were invented in China and brought to Italy in the 16th century, about the time Renaissance artists like Leonardo da Vinci were mastering 3-D and discovering slant anamorphosis.