Effect of Pictorial Depth Cues on Illusory Spatial Depth of the Lin Family Garden

Abstract

The methods of creating three-dimensional depth in two-dimensional paintings in the West and the East are quite different. Chinese paintings use layers of pictorial cues of relative size to create a sense of depth, while Western paintings utilize a linear perspective to integrate size related pictorial cues. The Chinese Scholar's Garden is known for its sense of endless spatial experience and illusory scene depth. This study examined how the pictorial space composed in Chinese landscape paintings was realized in the Chinese Scholar's Garden. The Lin Family Garden was selected for its adoption of the architectural style of the Chinese Scholar's Garden, and perceptual studies were conducted. The results confirmed that the uncommon reductions of the architectural elements observed in the garden can be an intentional effort to implement the pictorial depth cue of relative size utilized in Chinese landscape paintings to enrich the spatial depth of the garden scenes.