foreshorten

To foreshorten means to make something appear shorter than it really is, especially in visual art and perspective drawing. Most often, it refers to showing an object or body part as compressed because it points toward or away from the viewer. This matches the way the eye sees depth: dimensions along the line of sight seem shorter than they are in reality. For that reason, foreshortening is a basic tool for creating a sense of three-dimensional space and volume on a flat canvas, page, or screen.

The term developed in the late 16th century from "fore-" and "shorten." It became strongly linked with Western art during and after the Renaissance, when artists explored bold viewpoints. A well-known example is Andrea Mantegna's "Lamentation over the Dead Christ," where the body is seen from the feet upward and appears dramatically compressed.

Foreshortening is not just a visual trick; it is a faithful way of showing how proportions change from a particular viewpoint. A classic example is a finger pointing directly at a camera lens: the fingertip may look huge, while the rest of the finger seems to shrink behind it. Artists use this effect to create drama, motion, and realism, and photographers capture it when they shoot from extreme angles. In a broader sense, the verb can also describe making time, distance, or part of a story seem shorter or more compressed. In both uses, the central idea is the same: something is presented as shorter than its full extent.