Multiple Perspectives

Predators have eyes in the front so they can see their prey. Prey have eyes on each side so they can watch out for predators. Flatfish, like the flounder, have eyes on one side so they can blend into the sea bed and hide. Humans have eyes spaced apart and they can see things from two angles and as three dimensional objects.

So much for biology.

The human brain is a cathedral of complexity that frees us from the univision of one dimensional thinking.  The more we learn of the world the more interconnected, fractured and dizzying it can become.  Cultures see things differently – over time and space. There is always another way of seeing, another point of view to take into consideration as we arrive at our own conclusions.

Perspective is a ghastly mistake which it has taken four centuries to redress – Georges Braque

In his book Cezanne’s Composition (1943) Erle Loran diagrams the four different perspectives at work in the painting above:

The painting itself is in the Musée d’Orsay, Paris.