Anamorphosis

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Image:Sant'Ignazio - affresco soffitto -antmoose.jpg

An anamorphosis is a distorted projection or perspective; especially an image distorted in such a way that it becomes visible only when viewed in a special manner.

Leonardo's Eye (Leonardo da Vinci, ca 1485) is the earliest known example of an anamorphosis.

During the 17th century, Baroque trompe l'oeil murals often used this technique to combine actual architectural elements with an illusion. When standing in front of the art work in a specific spot, the architecture blends with the decorative painting. Hans Holbein the Younger is well known for incorporating this type of anamorphic trick in his masterpieces.

The dome and vault of the Church of St. Ignazio in Rome, painted by Andrea Pozzo, represented the pinnacle of illusion. Due to complaints of blocked light by neighboring monks, Pozzo was commissioned to paint the inside of a dome instead of constructing one. However, because it was flat, there was only one spot where the illusion was perfect and the dome looked real.

Another example is the sidewalk chalk paintings of Kurt Wenner and Julian Beever where the chalk painting, the pavement and the architectural surroundings all become part of an illusion. Art of this style can be produced by taking a photograph of an object or setting at a sharp angle, then putting a grid over the photo, another, elongated grid on the sidewalk based on a specific perspective, and reproducing exactly the contents of one into the other, one square at a time.

In other anamorphisms, an anamorphoscope (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 1600's and 1700's, this process of anamorphosis made it possible to diffuse caricatures, erotic and scatologic scenes and scenes of sorcery for a confidential public. 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.

IMAX, Cinemascope and other wide screen formats use anamorphosis to project a surround image from a flat two dimensional film.