Jean-François Niceron (5 July 1613 – 22 September 1646) was a French
mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...
,
Minim friar, and painter of
anamorphic art, on which he wrote the ground-breaking book ''La Perspective Curieuse'' (Curious Perspectives).
Biography
Jean-François Niceron was a mathematical prodigy. He studied under Father
Marin Mersenne
Marin Mersenne, OM (also known as Marinus Mersennus or ''le Père'' Mersenne; ; 8 September 1588 – 1 September 1648) was a French polymath whose works touched a wide variety of fields. He is perhaps best known today among mathematicians for ...
, a famed mathematician and Minim friar, at the
College de Nevers. In 1632, at the age of nineteen, he joined the
Order of Minims
The Order of Minims (; abbreviated OM), known in German-speaking countries as the Paulaner Order (), are a religious order of friars in the Catholic Church, founded by Francis of Paola in fifteenth-century Italy. The order soon spread to France, ...
.
Niceron was also an artist, with a particular interest in the use of
anamorphosis
Anamorphosis is a distorted projection that requires the viewer to occupy a specific vantage point, use special devices, or both to view a recognizable image. It is used in painting, photography, sculpture and installation, toys, and film speci ...
in
religious art. He was acquainted with the leading scientists in France and Italy, such as
Fermat
Pierre de Fermat (; ; 17 August 1601 – 12 January 1665) was a French mathematician who is given credit for early developments that led to infinitesimal calculus, including his technique of adequality. In particular, he is recognized for his d ...
,
Descartes,
Cavalieri, and
Kircher, and was aware of the latest theoretical developments. Intent on finding a scientific solution to the problems presented by
perspective, Niceron worked out the geometric algorithms for producing anamorphic art and in 1638, at the age of 25, published a treatise titled ''La perspective curieuse, ou magie artificielle des effets merveilleux'' (roughly translated as "The curious perspective or artificial magic of marvelous effects").
As a number of
scientific societies formed in the early 1630s, Niceron became a member of the Circle of Mersenne, which was named after his
mentor, Father Marin Mersenne. His connection with these societies led to associations with some of the top intellectuals from Paris and Rome. These relationships with the academic world helped him stay up to date with intellectual advancements. He closely followed
optics
Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of optical instruments, instruments that use or Photodetector, detect it. Optics usually describes t ...
and
geometry
Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician w ...
, and used this knowledge to create the anamorphic paintings for which he is known.
He died in 1646 in
Aix-en-Provence
Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...
, aged 33.
His portrait was engraved by
Lasne
Lasne (; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium, south east of Brussels.
In 2008, Lasne had a population of 14,043. The total area is 47.22 km² which gives a population density of 297 inhabitant ...
.
The lexicographer
Jean-Pierre Nicéron was a relative.
Publications
''La perspective curieuse, ou magie artificielle des effets merveilleux''(Paris, 1638, in-fol., reissued together with ''l'Optique'' and ''Catoptrique'' by P.
Mersenne, ibid., 1652, in-fol.)
: Niceron reworked ''La perspective curieuse'', augmented it with new observations, and translated it into Latin under the titl
''Thaumaturgus opticus, sive amiranda optices, etc.''(Paris, 1646, in-fol.) This was to have been followed by two other editions, but Niceron died before he could complete them. The 1638 and 1663 editions are both available onlin
: ''La perspective curieuse'', a richly illustrated manual on perspective, revealed for the first time the secrets of anamorphosis and '' Trompe-l'œil, trompe l'oeil''. It contained the first published reference to Descartes's derivation of the law of refraction
In physics, refraction is the redirection of a wave as it passes from one transmission medium, medium to another. The redirection can be caused by the wave's change in speed or by a change in the medium. Refraction of light is the most commo ...
. First published in 1638 with 25 plates, Niceron's work was enlarged by Roberval and republished in 1663, along with the first edition, posthumously published, of a scholarly work on optics and catoptrics by Mersenne (1588–1648). In the original work, Niceron concentrated primarily on the practical applications of perspective, catoptrics, and dioptrics, and on the illusory effects of optics, then traditionally associated with natural magic. The work's first book (out of four) presents briefly the fundamental geometrical theorems and then develops a general method of perspective, borrowing heavily from Alberti and Dürer. The second book addresses the problem of establishing perspective for paintings executed on curved or irregular surfaces, like vaults and niches, and presents the general technique of anamorphosis. Here Niceron shows, for example, how to construct on the interior surface of a cone a distorted image that, when viewed from the end through the base, appears in proper proportion. Book three discusses and explains the anamorphosis of figures that are viewed by reflection from plane, cylindrical, and conical mirrors. Book four deals with the distortions created by refraction. The added work on optics by Mersenne contained the author's final contributions to optics, including experimental studies of visual acuity and binocular vision and a critical discussion of contemporary hypotheses on the nature of light.
* ''L'Interprétation des chiffres, ou Règle pour bien entendre et expliquer facilement toutes sortes de chiffres simples, tirée de italien et augmentée, particulièrement à l'usage des langues française et espagnole'' (Paris, 1641, in-8°). This work has been translated in part by Ant.-Marie Cospi.
See also
*
List of Roman Catholic scientist-clerics
References
Further reading
*
* P. J. S. Whitmore: ''The Order of Minims in Seventeenth-Century France'
* A. De Rosa, edited by : ''Jean François Nicéron. Perspective, Catoptric and Artificial Magic'', with critical editions of ''La Perspective Curieuse'' (Paris 1638) and of the ''Thaumaturgus Opticus'' (Paris 1646), Aracne edizioni, , 24 x 28 cm, 488 pp, Roma 201
* A. De Rosa, ''Through a glass darkly: the life and work of Minim Jean François Nicéron'', in "Bollettino Ufficiale dell’Ordine dei Minimi", n° 5, year LI, January–March 2005.
* A. De Rosa, ''The Optik's Apocalipse. The twin anamorphosis by Emmanuel Maignan and Jean-François Nicéron, in "Ikhnos"'', Siracusa 2006.
* A. Bortot, C. Boscaro, A. De Rosa, C. Monteleone, E. Trevisan, ''Memory and oblivion. Discovery and digital survey of J.-F. Niceron's mural anamorphosis'', in "Acts of XVI ASITA National Conference", , Vicenza 2012
* G. D’Acunto, ''Jean-François Nicéron's Thaumaturgus opticus: between scientific precision and natural magic'', in "Bollettino Ufficiale dell’Ordine dei Minimi", n° 2, year LII, April–June 2006.
* I. Rizzini, ''Jean-François Nicéron's Thaumaturgus opticus: notes on translation from Latin'', in "Bollettino Ufficiale dell’Ordine dei Minimi", n° 4, year LI, October–December 2004.
* A. De Rosa, G. D'Acunto, ''La vertigine dello sguardo. Saggi sulla rappresentazione anamorfica'', Cafoscarina, , Venezia 200
Other sources
* The painting at the
Museum of the History of Science in
Florence
Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025.
Florence ...
br>
* The
Galileo projectbr>
* Mersenne's ‘'catoptrique'’ contains Niceron's plates
* First World Exhibition on Jean François Niceron at University Iuav of Venezia from 22 April until 31 May 201
* “Jean François Niceron and Emmanuel Maignan: two Minim fathers, between science and faith”, exhibition curated by Alessio Bortot, Agostino De Rosa and Imago rerum, from 7 October 2023 to 6 January 2024 and from 27 March to 8 September 2024, in the Exhibition Hall of the Sanctuary of San Francesco di Paola in Paola, (CS). The exhibition offers an unprecedented experience which, through physical works and digital reconstructions, will allow visitors to take a journey between science, art and faith
* Joe Frawley, "Curious Perspectives", Joe Frawley Music (ca476) (7 November 2011). Music composed by Joe Frawle
for the exhibition "Jean François Niceron: Perspective, catoptrics & artificial magic", University Iuav, Venice, Italy, 22 April – 31 May 201
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niceron, Jean-Francois
1613 births
1646 deaths
Catholic clergy scientists
Minims (religious order)
French mathematicians