A thinking person's guide to reality. The science of perspective has informed the representational and decorative arts since their inception, and its gradual perfection during the Renaissance was as important an event as any of the other mathematical and scientific developments of the time. Beginning with the evolution of visual perspective, Phoebe McNaughton reveals how and why illusions work in the first place. Questioning the idea that what we see is actually what is out there, she offers further optical illusions to suggest to readers that the world they perceive is in fact a complex product of their brain, constructed from the sensory data. Closing with various magical, theological, and atmospheric illusions and a further philosophical discussion of the nature of reality,Perspectivewill appeal widely to artists, designers, architects, and anyone interested in the visual or graphic arts.