Wonderfully Weird Proportions of Scale in Early Paintings
When old paintings challenge our modern day expectations
Take a moment to enjoy the intriguing painting shown above.
It was made by the Italian artist Giovanni di Paolo in about 1453. It shows a scene from the life of Saint John the Baptist, who leaves the city to take up a simple and austere life in the desert of Judea.
Notice how John can be seen twice: at first he walks from the city through the crenellated stone gate; next we see him moving up into the mountains to lead a life of material detachment.
To our modern eyes there is clearly something puzzling about this painting, most obviously in the disproportionate size between the figures and the setting, and between the different features of the landscape.
Part of the logic we take for granted about scale and proportion is how, for instance, things that are farther away appear smaller than things close up. Yet few of these expectations are met in this painting.
So you might well wonder: why did the artist choose to paint the scene in this way?
Different Purposes
To get a better idea of the artist’s purpose, take another look at the painting and notice how the colours…
