Anamorphosis, its history and evolution

Abstract

The illusionist painting has always fascinated human beings. The art of trompe l’oeil has been generally considered as an anamorphosis if it is painted over curved or flat surfaces, oblique with respect to the viewer, so it is correctly seen only from a certain point of view, out of which it is seen distorted and the illusory effect is lost. This article summarizes the history of anamorphosis, its different kinds and techniques, described by writers of the Baroque. Several examples, made by the main figures of this discipline throughout history, are analysed to see the evolution up to the present day, where technological advances allow new applications such as those of virtual and augmented reality, as well as stereoscopic anamorphosis.

Keywords

• anamorfosis, trampantojo, quadraturismo, anaglifos