The “Monument of an Instant”: The Portrayal of Central and Peripheral Vision in the Work of the Italian "Impressionist" Sculptor Medardo Rosso
WORK DATA
Lecturer:
Contributor:
Category:
EVENT
Type:
presentation
Keywords:
colour / perception / photography / sculpture / subjectivity / viewpoint / vision
Creation Date:
2002-10-20
Language:
English
Web:
Description:
One of the basic limitations on visual perception is that it is impossible, in any given moment, to see the world sharply and full of colors beyond the central area of the visual field. A fundamental mystery of perception is the fact that people do not normally notice this basic limitation on what they can see in each glance. Indeed, many of the important differences between central vision in the fovea and more peripheral vision were not discovered until the 19th century and are still being investigated today. In order to truly capture the visual experience of an "impression" - the vision of an instant - an artistic work should contain only a single focus area in detail surrounded by peripheral areas of progressively greater blur. The work of the Italian sculptor Medardo Rosso (1858-1928) may be the first artistic representation of the difference between central and peripheral vision. (D.M.)
More Information
Original Title (English):
The “Monument of an Instant”: The Portrayal of Central and Peripheral Vision in the Work of the Italian "Impressionist" Sculptor Medardo Rosso
Location:
Budapest, Műcsarnok, Törley-terem / Kunsthalle, Törley Hall
Part of Collection: