Drawing techniques: drawing frames & perspective machines

An Artist Using a Perspective Machine, Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528)

The problem of representing the real three-dimensional world in two dimensions is one that has engaged artists for centuries. In 1525 the artist Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) published a treatise on measurement which included a series of illustrations of drawing frames and perspective machines. The aim of these devices was to enable artists to take accurate measurements of their chosen subject or to trace a scene as it appeared before them in order to create a convincing illusion of the real world.

Many of the techniques used in the 15th and 16th centuries continued to be useful to later artists. The artist John Constable (1776-1837) used a glass frame similar to one described in the Treatise on Painting by Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519).