Interpretative reading of an illusory painted wall: a survey and analysis of a work from Antonio Galli Bibiena in Bologna

This study concerns architectural representation, and it focuses on the Quadratura issue: an illusory architecture painting where perspective creates the illusion of spatial depth on a flat surface. The main subject of this work is the study of the perspective scenes frescoed in the yards of historical building, during the 18th century in northern Italy, especially in Bologna; they represent architectural scenes, placed at the end of a promenade through the building. One of the most interesting example of these perspective frescoes in Bologna has been designed in 1761 by Antonio Galli Bibiena in Palazzo Vizzani's yard. This study aimed to approach a digital 3D-reconstruction of the scene, based on an accurate documentation and a combination of architectural survey techniques. Finally the digital reconstructed scene can be video-projected on the wall: it can simulate a viewer's eye guided across the building towards and inside the scene.