Captioned: "Demonstration of an anamorphic mural engraving by Jean-Francois Niceron, 1646." Anamorphosis is a distorted projection or perspective requiring the viewer to use special devices or occupy a specific vantage point to reconstitute the image. There are two main types of anamorphosis: perspective (oblique) and mirror (catoptric). Examples of perspectival anamorphosis date to the early Renaissance (15th century). Examples of mirror anamorphosis were first seen in the late Renaissance (16th century). With mirror anamorphosis, a conical or cylindrical mirror is placed on the drawing or painting to transform a flat distorted image into a three-dimensional picture that can be viewed from many angles. The deformed image is painted on a plane surface surrounding the mirror. By looking uniquely into the mirror, the image appears undeformed. This process of anamorphosis makes it possible to diffuse caricatures, erotic and scatological scenes and scenes of sorcery for a confidential public. Jean-Fran癟ois Niceron (1613 - September22, 1646) was a French mathematician, Minim friar, and painter of anamorphic art, on which he wrote the ground-breaking book, La Perspective Curieuse (Curious Perspectives).