Design for a portion of an illusionistic ceiling Tommaso Laureti Italian, 1583 Engraving 8 3/8 x 12 5/8 in. From Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, Le due regole della prospettiva pratica. Rome, 1583, p. 88 Getty Research Institute, 85-B16211

Linear perspective is a set of techniques, first codified in 15th-century Italy, for rendering three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface, creating the illusion of a virtual world beyond the picture plane. Show me more.

In the exhibition, an array of objects from books and printed images to paintings and sketches, and from miniature pop-up theaters to early surveying devices, demonstrates the development of perspective both as an art of illusion and as rigorous geometric science.

Follow the timeline to witness four centuries of geometrical experimentation and playful visual tricks.