Foreshortening is the art of representing figures and objects as they
appear to the eye, viewed in positions varying from the perpendicular.
The meaning of the term is exemplified in the celebrated Ascension, in
the Pietá dé Tárchini, at Naples, by Luca Giordano, in which the body of
Christ is so much foreshortened, that the toes appear to touch the
knees, and the knees the chin. This art is one of the most difficult in
painting, and though absurdly claimed as a modern invention, was well
known to the ancients. Pliny speaks expressly of its having been
practised by Parrhasius and Pausias. Many writers erroneously attribute
the invention to Correggio; but Lanzi says, "it was discovered and
enlarged by Melozzo da Forli, improved by Andrea Mantegna and his
school, and perfected by Correggio and others." About the year 1472,
Melozzo painted his famous fresco of the Ascension in the great chapel
of the Santi Apostoli at Rome. Vasari says of this work, "the figure of
Christ is so admirably foreshortened, as to appear to pierce the vault;
and in the same manner, the Angels are seen sweeping through the fields
of air in different directions." This work was so highly esteemed that
when the chapel was rebuilt in 1711, the painting was cut out of the
ceiling with the greatest care, and placed in the Quirinal palace, where
it is still preserved.