Amplifying reality through Quadratura. Contrappunto among corporeal and visual space

Abstract

Portuguese spatial production, between 17th to 18th centuries, experienced a renewal through a new feature of spatial research, the quadratura painting. Intended as action, the contrappunto among Architecture and Quadratura intertwines corporeal space (built) and visual space (represented) creating an apparent reality based upon the power of perspective. The employment of perspective rules and procedures into space illusion raised quadratura to the condition of architectural instrument overcoming tectonic constraints. By intertwining two-dimensional images and three-dimensional reality, we witness the triumph of the perspective induction over the built space. A metamorphosis of appearances in which the projected image becomes a structural fact, transforming the perception and reasoning of the tectonic truth. Approaching the Portuguese baroque, this new spatial achievement was introduced by the Italian authors Bacherelli and Nasoni. A path, integrating optical phenomena upon spatial configuration, followed by Portuguese authors whose quadratura works are judged through their capacity of blending strategies from the constructive experience with the potentialities of the pictorial essay.