in 1413, brunelleschi demonstrated the principles of perspective. parallel lines appear to recede in the distance and converge at a single point: the vanishing point. brunelleschi's theory not only demonstrated that objects in the distance appear smaller, but it also provided the basis for achieving this illusion scientifically. this system for linear perspective seems very simple, but it took centuries of artistic experimentation for it to be established. you can see that earlier paintings tended to have a flat look to them. these paintings are from the 13th century, about 200 years before brunelleschi. you can see a clear attempt to create the illusion of depth. and, yet, without a denite system for linear perspective, these works stl lack the the-dimensionality as the father ofrenaissanc, was close to achieving trueinear perspective. in these works, you can see how giotto relied on his powers of observation to create as much depth as possibl when you take a closer look, you can see that, although he clearly observed that parallel lines seem to re