Camera Lucida

Camera lucida, pronounced LOO suh duh, is a sketching device that consists of a four-sided prism and a magnifying glass, both attached to a frame. The term means light chamber. The device produces a virtual image of the object or scene on the paper where the sketch is made. Another form uses a right-angled prism with a sheet of glass for a reflector. Artists have used it to make accurate drawings of architectural scenes and landscapes, to reduce large drawings, and to transpose sketches. The reflected image's size is controlled by the distance from the object or scene.

Contributor: Robert A. Sobieszek, M.Phil., Curator, Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Camera Lucida

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