Camera Obscura

Camera obscura, pronounced ahb SKYUR uh, is a box used for sketching large objects or scenes. The term means dark chamber. The box contains a mirror set at a 45º angle. Mounted in the front end of the box is a double-convex lens like that in a photographic camera. Light from the object or scene is transmitted through the lens. The mirror reflects this light upward to a ground-glass screen on the top of the box. There, the light forms an image of the object or scene that can be sketched easily.

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

Camera Obscura

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