Ascending and Descending This could be drawn with vanishing points in full perspective. M. C. Escher, in his 1960 lithograph Ascending and Descending, chose to construct the deception in a different manner. He placed the staircase on the roof of a building and structured the building below to convey an impression of conformity to strong (but inconsistent!) vanishing points. He has the right vanishing point higher than the left one.
One task artists have not yet successfully addressed is to draw an illusion picture with its shadow. Just as shading could kill an illusion, its shadow could also give away the illusion. Possibly an artist could be clever enough to place the light source in such a location that the shadow would be consistent with the rest of the picture. Maybe the shadow could become an illusion itself! The possibilities boggle the mind. |