Through the looking glass

Perspective, a great example of the intersection between art and math, allowed us to accurately trace the world as we see it. Artists learned to mix paints to create the illusion of translucency in pigments. Magicians were able to use persistence of vision to create illusions and children's toys that would one day lead to moving pictures and create holograms of dead pop stars:

Magic lanterns are an extension of the Camera Obscura and can be traced back to the 17^th century. Rather than using the light from the sun, as a Camera Obscura did, an artificial light was used: first candlelight, then limelight, then electricity. The light was shown through a painted glass plate which was projected on the wall, very much like a slide projector (or even video projector). The images could be scrolled, giving the illusion of motion, or two images could be alternated, giving the illusion of animation. The simple technology of magic lanterns was popular for over 200 years, up until the 1920s when moving pictures finally dethroned them: