Volkov, N. N. Perception of Objects and Drawing (Vospriyatie predmeta i risunka), 1950. In Russian.

Волков Н. Н. Восприятие предмета и рисунка.
Москва : Издательство Академии педагогических наук РСФСР, 1950.
508 с. : ил., табл., [1] л. табл. Твёрдый издательский переплёт, обычный формат (22 см). Первое издание.
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Volkov, N. N. Perception of Objects and Drawing (Vospriyatie predmeta i risunka).
Moscow : Publishing House of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of the RSFSR, 1950.
508 pp. : ill., tables, [1] leaf of tables. Publisher’s hardcover, standard format (22 cm). First edition.

This 1950 first edition is a cornerstone of Soviet aesthetic theory and pedagogical psychology. Written by Nikolai Nikolayevich Volkov (1897–1974), a polymath who was equally accomplished as an art historian, psychologist, and painter, Perception of Objects and Drawing represents the first major systematic attempt in the USSR to bridge the gap between the science of optics and the practice of fine art. Published by the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences, it became an essential manual for art instructors and professional artists seeking a deeper understanding of the "mechanics of seeing."
Volkov’s work is unique because it treats the act of drawing not merely as a technical skill, but as a complex psychological process. He explores how the human eye and brain interpret three-dimensional form and translate it onto a two-dimensional plane. The book provides an exhaustive analysis of the laws of perspective, the behavior of chiaroscuro (light and shadow), and the perception of color and texture. Unlike standard drawing manuals, Volkov backs his artistic advice with rigorous experimental data on visual stimuli and the psychology of attention.
The volume is richly illustrated with technical diagrams, classical examples of master drawings, and pedagogical charts designed to train the artist’s eye to see beyond the "constant" properties of objects. Volkov explains the phenomenon of perceptual constancy—why we see a white plate as white even in deep shadow—and teaches the artist how to overcome these mental shortcuts to achieve true realism. His theories on the "compositional eye" influenced generations of Soviet artists and shaped the curriculum of the country’s leading art academies.
As a first edition from 1950, this book is a significant bibliographical rarity. Its large volume and high production standards for a pedagogical text reflect the importance placed on artistic education in the post-war Soviet Union. For collectors of art theory, historians of psychology, and practitioners of academic drawing, Volkov’s treatise remains an unsurpassed intellectual bridge between the studio and the laboratory.