The advent of Brunelleschi's linear perspective, with a vanishing point at infinity, is said to place the observer at a "natural" position, as if looking through a window. And indeed we interpret the perspective drawing as appearing "as we see things" in real space, and with a clear universality for all viewers.
But then it also seems to me that it is more nearly the exact opposite of "natural." When we look "out" upon the world everything appears to radiate away from us outward towards a parabolic horizon within which we are the vanishing point at infinity, so to speak. An inversion of the pictorial vanishing point, like the twin foci of an ellipse. Can anyone refer me to interesting discussions of this paradox, if that's what it is. Do Husserl or Merleau-Ponty address it?
While I would also welcome suggested references in, say, optics or projectile geometry, I have no formal background in math, physics, or philosophy, so overly technical material may be more than this weekend hobbyist can chew.Thank you.
