As noted by Leonardo Da Vinci in his A Treatise on Painting, “Colors become weaker in proportion to their distance from the person who is looking at them." This early 16th century statement was later backed by scientific evidence of dust particles and other microscopic materials causing light to scatter as it passes through them. This scattering then depended on wavelength, with blue light being scattered the most, explaining why mountains in the distance give off a blue-ish hue. By diffusing the light, objects, people and places can be rendered much more softly by the artist, being void of intense detail and realistic color use. The aerial perspective benefits from the atmosphere and undoubtedly is used by artists to focus (or to not focus in this case) on the subject within its wider surroundings. In Artsper's own selections, works by Slim Aarons and Julia Whitehead focus on crowd scenes of everyday life from the sky. Whitehead notes, “We are familiar with the scenes of busy, crowded streets but don't always see them from a different perspective or remove ourselves from the crowd to be able to stand and watch. The shapes, colors, shadows and dynamics of moving bodies whether seen individually or as a group, provide a never ending source of inspiration to me as an artist."
