In a large book that is finally being published in German translation, Hubert Damisch sets out to explore what he considers the most important feature of Western painting: the system of central perspective developed during the Renaissance. Why does this art-historical and cultural-technical dispositif continue to engage us? Perspective is much more than just a technical tool invented by the Renaissance painter: it is a paradigm, a model of thought with far-reaching consequences. Damisch's bold endeavor is not only to write a history or theory of perspective but also to develop a model for the future theory and practice of art history, touching upon the epistemological foundations of an entire discipline. This is achieved through a fruitful connection between Erwin Panofsky's work and Lacan's psychoanalytic structuralism.