A camera lucida is an optical device used as a drawing aid by artists.
The camera lucida performs an optical superimposition of the subject being viewed upon the surface upon which the artist is drawing. The artist sees both scene and drawing surface simultaneously, as in a photographic double exposure. This allows the artist to duplicate key points of the scene on the drawing surface, thus aiding in the accurate rendering of perspective. At times, the artist can even trace the outlines of objects.
Read more about Camera Lucida: History, Description, Microscopy
Famous quotes containing the word camera:
“The camera introduces us to unconscious optics as does psychoanalysis to unconscious impulses.”
—Walter Benjamin (1892–1940)