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Did Renaissance Artists Use Optical Projections, Or Didn't They?

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 -- Contemporary artist David Hockney caused a stir in 1999 with his controversial theory that early Renaissance artists used optical devices like the camera obscura or concave mirrors to project scenes onto their canvases for tracing. This, he believes, might help explain the sudden emergence of more realistic painting in the early 15th century. It would also mean that artists began using optical lenses even earlier than scientists did: The microscope and telescope weren't invented until the 1590s. Now one of Hockney's chief scientific allies is facing off against one of...Read full article

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    Published: October 2004
    Glossary
    camera obscura
    A forerunner of the modern camera, this instrument had a focusable lens that produced a sharp image on the enclosure opposite the aperture but had no photosensitive material to record it.
    camera obscuraconcave mirrorsDavid HockneyMicroscopyNews & Featuresoptical devicesoptical lensesRenaissance artists

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