Editing Axonometric projection (section)

== History ==
Axonometry originated in [[China]].<ref name=Krikke/> Unlike the [[linear perspective]] in European art whose perspective was objective, or looking from the outside, Chinese art used parallel projections within the painting that allowed the viewer to consider both the space and the ongoing progression of time in one scroll.<ref name="Kri00"/> The concept of [[isometry]] had existed in a rough empirical form for centuries, well before Professor [[William Farish (professor)|William Farish]] (1759–1837) of [[Cambridge University]] was the first to provide detailed rules for isometric drawing.<ref>Barclay G. Jones (1986). ''Protecting historic architecture and museum collections from natural disasters''. University of Michigan. {{ISBN|0-409-90035-4}}. p.&nbsp;243.</ref><ref>Charles Edmund Moorhouse (1974). ''Visual messages: graphic communication for senior students''.</ref>

Farish published his ideas in the 1822 paper "On Isometric Perspective", in which he recognized the "need for accurate technical working drawings free of optical distortion. This would lead him to formulate isometry. Isometry means "equal measures" because the same scale is used for height, width, and depth".<ref name="Kri96">J. Krikke (1996). "[http://www.iias.nl/iiasn/iiasn9/eastasia/krikke.html A Chinese perspective for cyberspace?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090601134152/http://www.iias.nl/iiasn/iiasn9/eastasia/krikke.html |date=2009-06-01 }}". In: ''International Institute for Asian Studies Newsletter'', 9, Summer 1996.</ref>

From the middle of the 19th century, according to Jan Krikke (2006)<ref name="Kri96"/>  isometry became an "invaluable tool for engineers, and soon thereafter axonometry and isometry were incorporated in the curriculum of architectural training courses in [[Europe]] and the [[United States|U.S.]] The popular acceptance of axonometry came in the 1920s, when [[modernist architects]] from the [[Bauhaus]] and [[De Stijl]] embraced it".<ref name="Kri96"/> De Stijl architects like [[Theo van Doesburg]] used axonometry for their [[architectural design]]s, which caused a sensation when exhibited in [[Paris]] in 1923".<ref name="Kri96"/>

Since the 1920s axonometry, or parallel perspective, has provided an important graphic technique for artists, architects, and engineers. Like linear perspective, axonometry helps depict three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional picture plane. It usually comes as a standard feature of [[Computer-aided design|CAD]] systems and other visual computing tools.<ref name="Kri00">Jan Krikke (2000). "Axonometry: a matter of perspective". In: ''Computer Graphics and Applications, IEEE'' Jul/Aug 2000. Vol 20 (4), pp.&nbsp;7–11.</ref> According to science author and [[Medium (website)|Medium]] journalist Jan Krikke, axonometry, and the pictorial grammar that goes with it, has taken on a new significance with the introduction of [[visual computing]] and [[isometric drawing|engineering drawing]].<ref name="Kri00"/><ref name=Krikke>{{Cite web|last=Krikke|first=Jan|title=Why the world relies on a Chinese "perspective"|url=https://jankrikke2020.medium.com/why-the-world-relies-on-a-chinese-perspective-cf3122caf67f|date=2018-01-02}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title=Axonometry: A Matter of Perspective|url=https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1109/38.851742|date=July 2000|doi=10.1109/38.851742 |last1=Krikke |first1=J. |journal=IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications |volume=20 |issue=4 |pages=7–11 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=A Chinese Perspective for Cyberspace|url=http://powys-lannion.net/Powys/America/Chinese.htm}}</ref>

<gallery widths="300px" heights="200px">
File:Optical-grinding engine model.jpg|Optical-grinding engine model (1822), drawn in 30° isometric perspective<ref>William Farish (1822) "On Isometrical Perspective". In: ''Cambridge Philosophical Transactions''. 1 (1822).</ref>
File:Axonometric example.gif|Example of a dimetric perspective drawing from a US Patent (1874)
File:Bank_of_China_Tower_massing_model.svg|Example of a trimetric projection showing the shape of the [[Bank of China Tower, Hong Kong|Bank of China Tower]] in [[Hong Kong]].
File:Sanguo2.PNG|Example of isometric projection in Chinese art in an illustrated edition of the ''[[Romance of the Three Kingdoms]]'', China, c. 15th century [[Common Era|CE]].
File:Along the River During the Qingming Festival (detail of original).jpg|Detail of the original version of ''[[Along the River During the Qingming Festival]]'' attributed to Zhang Zeduan (1085–1145). Note that the picture switches back and forth between axonometric and perspective projection in different parts of the image.
</gallery>