Everything about Anamorphic Projection totally explained
Anamorphosis is a distorted projection or perspective requiring the viewer to use special devices or occupy a specific vantage point to reconstitute the image. "Ana - morphosis" comes from the Greek words meaning "formed again." In other languages: αναμόρφωση (Greek), anamorphotisches Bild (German), anamorfosi (Italian), anamorfosis (Spanish), vertekend beeld (Dutch), anamorphose (French), anamorfoza (Polish), anamorfózis (Hungarian).
Types of projection
There are two main types of anamorphosis: Perspective (oblique) and Mirror (catoptric). Examples of
perspectival anamorphosis date to the early Renaissance (15th Century), whereas examples of
mirror anamorphosis (
or catoptric anamorphosis) occurred at the time of the
baroque (17th century).
With mirror anamorphosis, 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 1600s and 1700s, this process of anamorphosis made it possible to diffuse caricatures, erotic and scatologic scenes and scenes of sorcery for a confidential public.
These "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.
History of anamorphosis
Leonardo's Eye (
Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1485) is the earliest known example of perspective anamorphosis.
Hans Holbein the Younger is well known for incorporating this type of anamorphic trick. His painting
The Ambassadors is the most famous example for anamorphosis, in which a distorted shape lies diagonally across the bottom of the frame. Viewing this from an acute angle transforms it into the plastic image of a skull.
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.
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 neighbouring monks, Pozzo was commissioned to paint the ceiling to look like the inside of a dome, instead of actually constructing one. However, because it's flat, there's only one spot where the illusion is perfect and the dome looks real.
In 18th and in 19th century, anamorphic images had come to be used more as
children's games than fine art. In the 20th century some artists wanted to renew the technique of anamorphosis. Important to mention
Marcel Duchamp's interest in anamorphosis, some of his installations are paraphrases of anamorphoses (See
The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even &
The Large Glass).
Salvador Dalí also utilized the effect in a number of his paintings.
Jan Dibbets conceptual works, the so-called "perspective corrections" are examples of "linear" anamorphoses.
"Anamorphic" effects in the work of contemporary artists
The Swedish artist
Hans Hamngren produced and exhibited a great deal of examples of the mirror anamorphosis in the 60s and 70s.
Shigeo Fukuda Japanese artist has designed both types of anamorphosis in the 70s and 80s. Also
Patrick Hughes (artist),
Fujio Watanabe,
István Orosz,
Felice Varini, Matthew Ngui,
Kelly Houle,
Nigel Williams, and
Judy Grace are fine artists creating anamorphic images.
Another example is the footpath 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 footpath based on a specific perspective, and reproducing exactly the contents of one into the other, one square at a time.
Cinemascope,
Panavision,
Technirama and other
widescreen formats use anamorphosis to project a wider image from a narrower film frame.
The system of anamorphic projection can be seen quite commonly on text written at a very flat angle on roadways — such as "Bus Lane" or "Children Crossing" — which is easily read by drivers who otherwise would have difficulty reading as the vehicle approaches the text; when the vehicle is nearly above the text, its true abnormally elongated shape can be seen. Similarly, in many sporting stadiums, especially in Rugby football in
Australia, it's used to promote company brands which are painted onto the playing surface; from the television camera angle, the writing appear as signs standing vertically within the field of play.
On some 0.5 liter
Sprite bottles in Europe, an extra "
bar code" was present. When the bottle is tilted towards the mouth while drinking, the bar code resolves into writing due to the anamorphic effect.
Further Information
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