Painting Rooms

Step inside the paintings.

Each canvas is treated as a photograph. Its perspective gives a camera, the camera gives metres, and the metres become a clay room you can walk through and light.

The Calling of Saint Matthew by Caravaggio

Caravaggio · 1599–1600 · 322 × 340 cm

The Calling of Saint Matthew

Where does the beam of light really come from, and how deep is the room it crosses?

LightShutter at 45°Path traced
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Las Meninas by Velázquez

Velázquez · 1656 · 318 × 276 cm

Las Meninas

Who is the mirror showing, the king and queen or the canvas? Four theories, each tested.

Four theoriesReal mirrorPath traced
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A Bar at the Folies-Bergère by Manet

Manet · 1882 · 96 × 130 cm

A Bar at the Folies-Bergère

The barmaid's reflection is in the wrong place. Can any single viewpoint explain it?

Four readingsReal mirrorPath traced
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The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit by Sargent

Sargent · 1882 · 222 × 223 cm

The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit

One room, three possible light sources. Which combination makes the painting?

Three lightsMatch scorePath traced
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Measure

Vanishing points give the camera. Where figures meet the floor gives depth. Bottles, tables and doors of known size give the scale.

Rebuild

Every figure and object is placed from its pixels in metres. Fade the original over the model to see where they agree.

Light

Switch to path tracing and the light bounces for real: soft shadows, and mirrors that show what they would actually show.