Tripod arch
I thought this particular architectural form was a relatively modern innovation, but apparently it goes back to the Romans.
This is all about making two-dimensional representations of three-dimensional objects. It doesn’t quite work, because we’re minus one dimension. Perspective in art is historically recent, arguably beginning in the Renaissance. Once we figure out perspective, we can make realistic two-dimensional representations.
The next step is to play with the rules of perspective and create realistic representations of objects that can’t possibly exist… visual paradoxes. This is even more recent, dating back only to the 1930s. We’re all familiar with M.C. Escher, but the real pioneer of impossible objects was Oscar Reutersvärd, and I’d never heard of him. The internet is not just a series of tubes, it’s also an education. See Impossible World for lots of pictures.
