Telari

an element of set design in the Western European theater of the 16th and 17th centuries. Telari were rectangular three-sided prisms constructed of three frames covered with stretched canvas, on which houses, trees, and other scenery were painted. Placed along the sides and back of the stage, the telari created an illusion of depth. Their invention is ascribed to the Italian designer B. Buontalenti, who first used them in 1585.