ANAMORPHOSIS, in perspective and painting, a monstrous projection or re presentatien of an image, on a Plane or curve surface, which, beheld at a proper distance, shallappear regular and in pro portion.
To delineate al anarnorphosis upon a plane : 1. Draw the square A B C D, (Plate I..Miscel. fig. 4,) of% bigness at pleasure, and subdivide into a number of little squares. 2. In this iquare, called the craticula prototype, let the image to be represented deformed, b e drawn. 3. Then draw the line a b (ibid. fig.5.) equal to A B, and divide it into the same number of equal parts as the side of tht prototype A B. 4. Erect the perpendictlar E V, the middle of a b,so midi the longer as the deformity of the image is to be greater. 5 Draw V S perpenclictittr to E V, so much the shorter as you wo.1c1 have the image appear more deformet. From each point of division draw straight lines to V, and join the points a and S by the right line a S. 6. Through the points d efy draw right lines parallel to a b, then will a b cd be the space in which the monstrous projection is to be deline ated ; this space is called the eraticular ectype. Lastly, in every areola, or small trapezium of the space a, b, r, (1, draw what appears delineated in the correspon dent areola of the square AB CD; and thus you obtain a deformed image, which will appear in just proportion to an eye distant from it the length of V, and raised above its height V S.
An image may be deformed mechani cally, if you place it, having little holes made here and there in it with a needle, against a candle, and observe where the rays going through these holes fall cm a plane or curve surface ; for they will give the corresponding points of thc image to be deformed.
The practical methods of drawing these images is described in the Leipsic Act, for the year 1712, where we have an account of two machines, one for images viewed with a cylindrical, and the other with a conical mirror. The person who has this instrument may take any point at pleasure, and while he. goes over the outlines of it with one pen, another traces the anamorphosis.
In the cloister of the Minims at Paris, there am two anamorphoses traced upon two of the sides of the cloister, one repre senting a Magdalen, and the other St. John writing his gospel. They are so managed, that when viewed directly they appear like a kind of landscape, butfrom a particular point of sight they appear very distinctly like human figures.