-- systematic formulation in the 1400's artists have been using it to express more, metaphorically, than simple measurement of pictorial space. > > They rest upon the assumption that there is some way the > eye really sees -- so > there's something wrong in "Supper at Emmaus" if things > don't get smaller as > they recede into the distance, and there is something right > about "Follies > Bergere" if there are multiple implicit vanishing points.
How do you reach that foolish premise, that "there is some way the eye really sees"? I assume you mean there is some ONE way the eye really sees in every instance. Of course there is a way the eye "really sees" otherwise there would be no sight. Of course there are many ways the eye sees, all of them affected a co-mingling of light, the quality of the eye's biology, the cognitive function (including memory, associative cognition, both conscious and unconscious, interest (goal) and the like. > > I'm more inclined to ask "why is it important to see this > painting" -- > coinciding with "what did the artist most likely try > to present" --- and let > my viewing experience provide me answers (if it can find > any). So you want to know the artist's intention? But you test that by referring only to your own experience. That strikes me as ridiculous. If you want to know someone's intention you need to examine the evidence they provide to see if it supports or weakens the intention. What do YOU have to do with it, unless you want to match your fantasy intention with the artistS EVIDENT intention? It strikes me this this is precisely what you do. If your fantasy intention seems to match what you think is the artist's intention then you think you have understood the work -- and feel it properly. And if your fantasy intention doesn't seem to be ratified by the artist's intention, then so much the worse for the artwork that presumably symbolizes intentionality. > > And what I bring to that experience is my own > experience of looking, as well > as an on-going historical narrative. That's true of every moment of anyone
