The Perspective Research Centre (PRC) offers illustrated lectures, talks, workshops and courses on visual, optical and technical perspective across art, science and technology. Programmes can be adapted for universities, museums, schools, professional institutions, research groups, creative organisations and specialist teams.
The Master Lecture on Perspective
Perspective: Past, Present and Future
The Master Lecture on Perspective presents a comprehensive, richly illustrated account of how perspective works, bringing together geometry, vision, projection, representation, vanishing structures, optics, art, photography, cinema, scientific imaging, computer graphics, virtual reality and artificial intelligence within a unified interdisciplinary framework.
The lecture is available in the following formats:
- 45-, 60-, 90- or 120-minute illustrated versions
- extended 145-slide presentation of approximately three hours
- in person or online, for general or specialist audiences
- adaptable to the audience, venue and programme, with questions and discussion
Suitable for beginners, students, general audiences and specialists, the lecture ranges from fundamental principles to advanced classifications, interdisciplinary connections and original ideas. Technical depth can be adapted to the audience and available time.
Browse this 100-slide illustrated prospectus of the complete 145-slide lecture to explore its themes, visual material and scope.
Master Lecture — Topics Covered
Designed for universities, colleges, research groups, museums, creative organisations, visual-production teams and specialist professional audiences, the lecture can be adapted to cover:
- the nature, history and wider status of perspective;
- natural, visual, optical, graphical and other forms;
- Leonardo da Vinci and visual knowledge;
- viewpoint, projection, horizon and vanishing structures;
- perspective phenomena, distortion and visual illusion;
- photography, cinema, scientific imaging and computer graphics;
- virtual reality, artificial intelligence, computer vision and the future of perspective.
The full 145-slide lecture lasts about three hours including discussion; shorter 45-, 60- and 90-minute versions are also available and can be adapted to the audience and event.
Why Study Perspective?
Perspective is often taught only within drawing, architecture, photography, cinema, geometry or computer graphics. Studied as an interdisciplinary field, it connects vision, optics, representation, imaging, spatial measurement and media technology, providing methods for analysing images, solving visual problems and understanding how views and representations are created and transformed.
Lecturer
All lectures and courses are presented by Dr Alan Radley FRSA, Founder and Scientific Director of the Perspective Research Centre. He has researched visual, optical and technical perspective for more than thirty years, drawing on a background in physics, optics, astronomy, imaging systems and visual technology.
He has presented internationally and written books, papers, articles and chapters on perspective and related visual and optical subjects, while also developing the research legacy of Professor Kim H. Veltman.
Perspective Courses
The PRC offers structured courses for beginner, intermediate and advanced audiences, combining illustrated lectures, diagrams, guided discussion, practical visual problems and supporting materials. A typical one-day programme suits approximately 10–15 participants, although larger groups can be accommodated.
These are not conventional drawing courses limited to linear perspective: they examine perspective across art, science, technology, vision, imaging and spatial representation.
Book a Lecture or Course
To enquire, please include brief details of your organisation, intended audience, preferred lecture or course, proposed date, location and whether the event will be in person or online.