Lespinasse - Traité de Perspective - 1823

ILLUSION OF SPACE AND ARCHITECTURE OF DECEPTION: THE IMAGINED REALITY
Theoretical work with practical value, this treatise on linear perspective from 1823 sits within the great tradition of geometry applied to the visual arts, offering a systematic compendium aimed at both artists and engineers and military technicians. The volume reflects a crucial moment in which perspective, a Renaissance know-how, becomes a codified discipline and an essential technical instrument in academic and military training, with particular attention to optical effects, reflections and the construction of space.
MARKET VALUE
Indicative range: 450 – 800 euro
Complete copies in good condition with plates can reach higher values, especially if well preserved and with contemporaneous binding.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Beautiful half-green leather binding ornamented with gold decorations, signs of wear. 27 large folded plates (12 bis). Typographic title page. The work is accompanied by illustrative plates. Very fresh and crisp laid paper. Good state of conservation, some cuts distant from the incision on a pair of prints. Pages (2); 232; 27.
In old books, with a multi-centennial history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description.

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Traité de Perspective linéaire, à l’usage des artistes; contenant la pratique de cette science, d’après les meilleurs auteurs; les méthodes les plus simples, pour mettre toutes sortes d’objets en perspective, leurs réflexions dans l’eau, et leurs ombres, tant au soleil qu’au flambeau.
Par L.-N. Lespinasse.
Paris, Anselin et Pochard, successeurs de Magimel, 1823.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
The work belongs to the tradition of perspective treatises developed from the Italian Quattrocento (Brunelleschi, Alberti) and systematized in the following centuries. In the early nineteenth century, perspective becomes a fundamental tool not only for painting but also for architecture, engineering and military cartography.
Lespinasse, with military training, integrates artistic knowledge with practical needs: accurate representation of space, study of shadows and reflections, useful applications also in design and visual ballistics. The treatise stands out for its pedagogical intent and for the willingness to simplify complex methods, making them accessible.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Louis-Nicolas Lespinasse was an officer and a member of the Académie de peinture et sculpture. Active between the late 18th and early 19th century, he represents that hybrid figure typical of the era: technician, military officer and theoretician of the image. His work reflects the intersection of art and science, with particular attention to the didactic transmission of perspectival principles.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
Paris edition of 1823, published by Anselin et Pochard, editors specialized in military and technical works. The treatise fits into an editorial context aimed at professional and academic formation. It is not a first edition in the field, but represents a mature synthesis of the perspectival tradition, with circulation mainly in the French and academic sphere.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Catalogue BnF (Bibliothèque nationale de France), notice du Traité de perspective linéaire, 1823
WorldCat, bibliographic record Lespinasse, Traité de perspective linéaire
ICCU / OPAC SBN, checks on copies present in Italian libraries (to be confirmed with a specific copy)
Brion-Guerry, Jean, L’année 1823 en histoire de l’art
Kemp, Martin, The Science of Art: Optical Themes in Western Art from Brunelleschi to Seurat, pp. 150–210
Panofsky, Erwin, Perspective as Symbolic Form, passim