Changing Images of Pictorial Space: A History of Spatial Illusion in Painting Paperback – March 1, 1991

The Author was my painting professor in the 1970's at Central Washington University. I personally liked him, thought he was a great teacher and this book is the best discussion of the issue of space in painting I have come across. Five stars. I ignore the cavil about the black and white photos and focus on the content and how space has been perceived throughout history. It makes clear the argument today about being true to the 'flat' surface of the painting better than any I have heard previously. After reading this one is able to decide with authority which route they want to go and if the artist feels the flat surface needs to be negated one knows why and how to do it.

Excellent mesh with standard art history accounts of the artists of each period. Relevant read for contemporary painters. Know what came before you!

This book is like a sine qua non for good painting process and what artists did in past. It brings everything together- art theory, practice and movements. An amazing resource. Excellent read and language !I am humbly surprised by the 2 star review- personally, I do not think it is fair.

I got so far only at the 4th chapter, but I would suggest this book to everyone who is interested about art, and artistic developments in the last +2000 years. The author talks about art without getting lost in all those poetic, rethoric, oratorial, descriptions than art historians usually use to describe a painting, and at the end you are not left with much. This author talks about FACTS in the PAINTINGS, not in his mind, not his sensations.... Ok I love it. I read so far the first 4 chapters but if the next are like the previous ones I can't give less than 6 stars,.... ohps only 5 available, than 5. Really a big BRAVO and THANK YOU to the author..... A book to keep with you ..... kindle available? I wish.

I'm taking a post-modern painting class and really wanted an overview of how the concept of pictorial space has evolved up until contemporary times and this book provides it. It clearly explains developments in painting, citing major artists as examples, and is helping me see and understand the progress of art. As the other reviewer said it is factual about the art works, as opposed, I guess, to art criticism. It includes broad information on concepts as well as technical details about brushwork. I'm so glad I got this book!!! It has accelerated my previously vague and muddy understanding. Recommended for painters!!!!

Fantastic book for people who really want to get inside a painting and understand how it creates a space and a world of its own. It is a book for hard core art theory specialists but it also a very interesting and accessible read for anyone interested in how art works. Beautifully written without overload of art terminology or theoretical references. You will go back to this book again and again after you have finished it.

I must be the only one to find Dunning’s book a frustrating read. While indeed an interesting theory unfolds and while indeed it is fascinating to follow the author in this process, I cannot escape the feeling that I as reader shouldn’t have to struggle so to follow the narrative. There are huge leaps and gaps in what Dunning presents, which an inquisitive reader will find maddening – it is like following a mountain goat across treacherous terrain. One will at best trip a few times and while the view is often stunning one can't enjoy it much as one must concentrate on not breaking one's intellectual ankles; there is indeed a great risk of getting stuck somewhere and/or lose the goat. One cannot simply read this book – to fully understand it one needs to read a lot around it. Another rather annoying aspect I find is that Dunning, as it were, is engaging in the act of “beading”: threading beads of other authors’ insights into a certain sequence. While we must assume that Dunning has full knowledge of all that he has read and cites, the average reader with an interest in art is without that knowledge, and Dunning unfortunately doesn’t offer mcuh context. What is more, the reader must have a computer within reach so that the art that is discussed can actually be seen and studied - the black and white illustrations are of such low quality and so unhelpful, they might as well not have been there. This is neither a good book, nor a bad book – it is a bit of a sloppy book about a fascinating subject. It is more a university syllabus, and the “Works Cited” is a list of books part of which must be read to be able to make sense of Dunning’s work.

In The Changing Images of Pictoral Space: A History of Spatial Illusionin Painting, the author presents us with examples in European Art of the changing and evolving methods and techniquesof presenting illusion. The psychological viewpoint of thepicture plane is shown to have changed over the centuries. What was oncea window to look into, is now in modern paintings, a two-dimensional flat surface. The artist's intent has changed over the centuries.I could not put this book down. It reminds me of The Da Vinci Code.