Optical Illusions in Art: Or--Discover How Paintings Aren't Always What They Seem to Be

This vivid introduction to the use of illusion in art makes often complex visual effects understandable and fun. Chapters on trompe l'oeil, surrealism, perspective, anamorphosis (distortions corrected by use of mirrors or acute viewing angles), reversible images and op art explain the concepts with remarkable clarity; handsome reproductions, including works by artists as diverse as Raphael and Magritte, Holbein and Dali, are riveting. Seurat, Escher and the ""vegetable"" artist Arcimboldo have their own well-deserved sections, which, like the others, include numerous exercises in looking at the images and even creating one's own optical illusions. Asking the reader, for example, to view a Mantegna sky/ceiling painting while holding the book overhead, Sturgis surmounts the difficulty of reproducing trompe l'oeil convincingly. His highly engaging book proves that art can stimulate the mind as well as the senses. Ages 8-up. (May)