Couldn’t they tell that objects farther away appear smaller?
In: Other
That’s a common misconception. People have known how to paint with perspective for thousands of years.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fayum_mummy_portraits](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fayum_mummy_portraits)
The thing is that (1) not all art from the ancient world survives and (2) different art styles were appropriate for different media and different situations.
Additionally, art, like all trades at the time, was the work of a master and his apprentices. The master would teach what he knew to his apprentices, and they would go on to teach theirs. But sometimes this chain was broken, especially after conquests and cultural conversions. Styles would not only go in and out of fashion, but also be lost and rediscovered.
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