Convention and Picture
Perception
Typical rendering of human 
figures in early Egyptian art: 
the way perspective is depicted 
has varied throughout history, 
just as conventions of 
representation have different 
meanings in different places 
and times.

According to the convention 
theory, the representation of 
edges or boundaries by lines is 
an artistic convention that we 
have learned to interpret 
correctly. Perhaps over the 
centuries the practice of using 
lines in drawings and paintings 
has become deeply ingrained 
and each new generation 
learns about it in childhood. 
That might explain why it has 
been claimed that animals, 
along with individuals in 
certain less "advanced" 
societies, do not perceive 
pictorial representations the 
way we do. Conventions must be 
learned. The convention theory 
would also explain the major 
differences in modes of 
pictorial representation over 
the centuries. The very fact 
that the use of perspective in 
art was so late in becoming 
prevalent might be taken to 
support this theory.