The invention of perspective, around 1420 in Florence, Italy, marks a major turning point in the history of Western painting. It was not just a technical revolution—it introduced a new way of seeing and thinking about the world. Before perspective, images followed different rules. A king, for example, might be depicted far larger than a peasant, simply because he held greater social importance. In a single scene, multiple viewpoints could coexist : the floor might be shown head-on, the walls in profile, and objects almost exploded apart to reveal every detail. This created representations that were less realistic but more narrative.

The arrival of perspective brought with it a more rational and “scientific” vision of space, in which everything is organised around a single viewpoint—centred on humans, and on their gaze.