Beyond the Limits of the Constrained View: Interactive Digital Spaces for the Perspective Quadrature of the Royal Palace of Portici

Abstract

Between the 17th and the 18th century, quadraturism established itself as a technical and conceptual device capable of altering the perception of the architectural space: by means of linear and aerial perspective –sometimes rigorous, at other times departing from geometrical principles to create deliberate artifices– the quadratura creates the illusion of a depth that dematerializes the wall surface, expanding the space behind its physical boundaries. This results in alternatives and fictional spaces of unlimited depth, interacting with the real structure, enriching its spatiality to the point that it becomes impossible for it to maintain an independent and autonomous identity. Thus, a tension is established between what is real and what is represented through the use –for illusory purposes– of perspective drawing: this tension is what makes the Sala delle Guardie of the Royal Palace of Portici (Naples) an emblematic case of ‘revealed structure’ through drawing, the latter intended as an act of knowledge, interpretation and organization of visible space. By means of digital photogrammetric survey and perspective restitution of painted architectures, research intended to critically reinterpret the rules and derogations adopted by the artist-scenographer in designing his ‘augmented’ space in terms of spatial perception, offering a three-dimensional reconstruction of the painted architectures in order to allow their exploration from unrestricted viewpoints through Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality.