The
Use of Foreshortening in Art
When
an artist paints a 3-Dimensional object onto a flat 2-Dimensional
canvas, it is necessary for the artist to illustrate the depth
of the object to the viewer.
The artist must use visual effects or ‘optical illusions’
to allow you, the viewer, to see an object as having depth
and perspective.
This famous
image by Leonardo Da Vinci 'Vitruvian Man' is a study of the
'perfect' dimensions of the human figure. The figure has outstretched
arms and legs of 'ideal' dimensions. Both arms and both legs
have been rendered as being of equal length, as you might
expect.
And at a glance,
it is possible for the viewer to tell instantly (and without
thought) that the figure has his arms and legs stretched out
sideways.
Study
the image of Leonardo’s ‘Mona Lisa’ above.
It appears perfectly natural. But look at the arms closely;
the right arm is distinctly shorter than the left.
Is this because the Mona Lisa had one arm shorter than the
other? Or did Da Vinci make a mistake in his rendering of
this 3D dimensional subject? Of course not! Da Vinci used
‘Foreshortening’ to create an illusion of a third
dimension; a sense of depth.
This optical
illusion has been employed by Da Vinci to illustrate to you,
the viewer, that the Mona Lisa’s left arm is folded
across her body while her right arm is placed coming forward,
towards the viewer. By shortening the length of the
right arm, the artist creates the illusion of the arm coming
to the fore.
Foreshortening
in art is something that we, as viewers, can all see and subconciously
‘understand’ immediately. However, as an artist,
working in 2 dimensions on paper or canvas, foreshortening
(as well as other techniques that create perspective) is a
technique that can be difficult to apply and must be well
thought out to create realistic depth in an image.
To quote
the dictionary definition above, when an artist works in with
2 dimensional media, foreshortening is used “ 1.
To shorten the lines of (an object) in a drawing or other
representation so as to produce an illusion of projection
or extension in space.”
The
Use of Foreshortening in Bonsai
Bonsai
is a 3-dimensional art form; a bonsai artist does not have
the same problem of creating depth that the 2 dimensional
artist does. However, a bonsai artist can still utilise foreshortening
and use it to his advantage.
“2.
To reduce the length of; curtail or abridge.”
There
are often situations when styling bonsai where a branch or
a trunk is too long and the foliage on the branch is too far
away from the trunk; this is where the principles of foreshortening
can be used to our advantage.
. 
In
the images above, a long Pine branch is shown, seen from the
front of the tree and from above.
The
branch is bare apart from some foliage at its tip; ideally
the branch needs to be made shorter so that the foliage is
closer to the trunk. Whereas with deciduous species, that
will produce new growth from bare branches, there is no possibility
of pruning this Pine branch so that it is shorter without
the entire branch dying.
This is
where we can employ the technique of foreshortening to our
advantage. Rather than leaving the branch as it is and waiting
for a number of years to trying create back budding (so that
the branch can be shortened back to the backbudding) or even
removing the branch, we can simply wire and foreshorten it.
We create depth to shorten the length of the branch when seen
from the front of the tree.
