Souffleur, what is the meaning of 'atmospheric perception'?

Wies De Vos, Public Engagement Officer for Exhibitions: ‘From the 14th or 15th century, painters try to depict the world as realistically as possible. The vanishing point perspective becomes more popular, for example. This is a very effective way of evoking depth if you have straight lines – in rooms or suchlike – but difficult to apply to landscapes.’

‘You can, however, add depth to a landscape by using the right colours. You just need to pay attention if you are in a place where you have a good view of the horizon: the further away things are from you, the bluer and blurrier they seem. Painters had already noticed this in the 15th century, and they used it with great success: they painted things in the distance in blurry, blue hues. We term this ‘atmospheric’ perspective because it arises from the refraction in the atmosphere.’