William Hogarth - Satire on False Perspective (1753-4)

Satire on False Perspective is an engraving created by William Hogarth in 1754. It greatly centers around linear perspective (an approximate representation on a flat surface of an image as it is seen by the eye), scale and distance. This image however, creates a false reality as it includes many deliberate examples of 'confused and misplaced perspective effects' - the scene can be said to be an example of impossible objects. The intent of the work was given clearly by it's subtitle featured underneath the image: "Whoever makes a DESIGN without the Knowledge of PERSPECTIVE will be liable to such Absurdities as are shown in this frontier piece."

The man portrayed on the hill stands out against the lighter hills, and therefore was the first apparent illusion to me as he appears not only to be portrayed as a very large and giant-like character in the distance but he also appears to be lighting his pipe with the candle belonging to the woman who is leaning out of the window. This has been very cleverly done, as visually this appears to be what is happening in the image - but in reality and from our memory and knowledge of distance the hill is actually distant from the building as they are separated by a bridge and land.

The second apparent "error" to me is the fishing rod line belonging to the man in the foreground as it passes the one belonging to the man behind him. The sign coming from the building also in the foreground is being overlapped by two trees in the distance. The swan in the distance also appears remarkably larger than the men in the boat - this is a fine example of why object size within an image is very important; everything has to be in proportion to ensure realism is given to the image.

Similarly, the crow perched on the tree in the background is huge in comparison to the tree, and this line of trees are perhaps representative of how the further away an object is aimed to be portrayed, the smaller they should be - but in this case it has been reversed.

Objects should become smaller as their distance from the observer increases, and in the case of foreshortening the size of an object's dimensions along the line of sight should be relatively shorter than dimensions across the line of sight. Perspective (particularly scale, distance and linear space) is highly important factor that must be taken into great consideration whilst communicating visually.