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The origins of entasis: illusion, aesthetics or engineering?

The origins of entasis: illusion, aesthetics or engineering? Spatial Vision , Vol. 20, No. 6, pp. 531 – 543 (2007)  VSP 2007. Also available online - www.brill.nl/sv The origins of entasis: illusion, aesthetics or engineering? PETER THOMPSON ∗ , GEORGIA PAPADOPOULOU and ELENI VASSILIOU Department of Psychology, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK Received 21 July 2006; accepted 5 February 2007 Abstract —A typical characteristic of columns in Doric temples is entasis ; a slight convexity in the body of a column. Often, and particularly in guide-books, it is suggested that entasis is intended to compensate for an illusion of concavity in columns with truly straight sides. We have investigated whether any such visual illusion exists, both in parallel sided and in tapering columns in a series of experiments, finding little evidence to support any illusion-compensation theory. Further, we explored the possibility that entasis was employed for purely aesthetic reasons, but the results do not support this conclusion. Finally, evidence supporting an engineering role for entasis is presented. Keywords : Entasis; illusion; aesthetics. INTRODUCTION ‘Entasis’, from the Greek word εντ ε ´ ινειν , to stretch, means tension or bowing. According to Penrose (1888, p. 39), it is the ‘swelling given to a column http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Spatial Vision (continued as Seeing & Perceiving from 2010) Brill

The origins of entasis: illusion, aesthetics or engineering?

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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 2007 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
0169-1015
eISSN
1568-5683
DOI
10.1163/156856807782758359
pmid
18073045
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Spatial Vision , Vol. 20, No. 6, pp. 531 – 543 (2007)  VSP 2007. Also available online - www.brill.nl/sv The origins of entasis: illusion, aesthetics or engineering? PETER THOMPSON ∗ , GEORGIA PAPADOPOULOU and ELENI VASSILIOU Department of Psychology, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK Received 21 July 2006; accepted 5 February 2007 Abstract —A typical characteristic of columns in Doric temples is entasis ; a slight convexity in the body of a column. Often, and particularly in guide-books, it is suggested that entasis is intended to compensate for an illusion of concavity in columns with truly straight sides. We have investigated whether any such visual illusion exists, both in parallel sided and in tapering columns in a series of experiments, finding little evidence to support any illusion-compensation theory. Further, we explored the possibility that entasis was employed for purely aesthetic reasons, but the results do not support this conclusion. Finally, evidence supporting an engineering role for entasis is presented. Keywords : Entasis; illusion; aesthetics. INTRODUCTION ‘Entasis’, from the Greek word εντ ε ´ ινειν , to stretch, means tension or bowing. According to Penrose (1888, p. 39), it is the ‘swelling given to a column

Journal

Spatial Vision (continued as Seeing & Perceiving from 2010) – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 2007

Keywords: ILLUSION; AESTHETICS; ENTASIS

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