How did Filippo Brunelleschi invent linear perspective?

Filippo Brunelleschi was an Italian architect, sculptor, and engineer recognized for developing the mathematical technique of linear perspective in art. This technique governed pictorial depictions of space until the late nineteenth century and influenced the rise of modern science. Alongside other Renaissance figures, Brunelleschi studied perspective and incorporated it into his revolutionary work.

What we know

• Filippo Brunelleschi is recognized for creating the mathematical technique of linear perspective in art. [2]
• Linear perspective governed pictorial depictions of space until the late nineteenth century. [2]
• Brunelleschi's mathematical technique influenced the rise of modern science. [2]
• Italian Renaissance painters and architects, including Brunelleschi and Leon Battista Alberti, studied linear perspective and wrote treatises on it. [3]

Where to go next

• whoWho was Leon Battista Alberti?
• a case in pointHow did the Florence Cathedral dome get built?
• the bigger pictureWhat is Renaissance architecture?
• how it workedHow does graphical perspective work optically?
• what followedWhat were the effects of linear perspective on modern science?
• an unexpected connectionHow did a master architect also secure the world's first patent?In addition to inventing linear perspective and building the Duomo, Brunelleschi was awarded the first patent in the Western world in 1821 for a ship design.

Sources

• [1]Filippo Brunelleschi (Wikidata Q174330) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Filippo Brunelleschi · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Perspective (graphical) · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Florence Cathedral · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Renaissance · CC BY-SA 4.0