The diminishing of dimensions of a figure or object to depict the correct spatial relationship. E.g. if you viewed a person from frog perspective, their feet would appear disproportionally larger than the head. But we know that in this perspective, it is an accurate representation of reality. If we stand in front of a person and this person points straight at us the arm and the index finger is foreshortened and does not appear as long as when the either were hanging loosely down from the shoulder.
Foreshortening is in isolation what happens to an object or figure when viewed from a certain angle, whereas perspective is how the entire scene appears from an angle.
Return to the art glossary
Return to entries beginning with F
