However, the wider acceptance of axonometry had to wait until it was given a mathematical foundation. It was Englishman William Farish who provided axonometry with its geometrical basis. In 1822, Farish published a paper entitled 'On Isometrical Perspective'. Farish recognized the need for accurate technical working drawings free of optical distortion. This would lead him to formulate isometry.
Isometry means 'equal measures' because the same scale is used for height, width, and depth.
The popular acceptance of axonometry came in the 1920s, when modernist architects from the Bauhaus and De Stijl embraced it. De Stijl architects Theo van Doesburg and Cornelis van Eesteren used axonometry for their architectural designs, which caused a sensation when exhibited in Paris in 1923. Despite its importance to modern architects, engineers, and graphic designers, the history of axonometry has been somewhat obscured. The reason may well be the mathematical treatment axonometry has received in Europe. Orthographic projection is of Greek origin.