Colouring in Architecture: problems involving nocturnal representation

The visibility of an architecture changes enormously throughout the day depending on whether the light source is diurnal, nocturnal, natural, artificial or mixed. Since perception of the same building changes, we always need to experiment with suitable representation systems in order to convey these changes in colour. Several methods can be used to understand these effects; they include photography and all kinds of drawings, be they analogical or digital. The big difference in architectural representations is the contrast between light and shadow, the absence of colour, the use of black and white, and the descriptions of the different colour intensities and tones. Since daytime representations have been studied the most, even by me, my contribution will focus on the nocturnal representation of architecture, a topic that still needs to be examined in-depth by anyone involved with drawing. I have chosen several subjects which I will draw at a certain time of night: the castle on the island of Patmos (Greece), the castle in the city of Blanca (Mursia region, Spain), and the Cathedral in Orbetello (Tuscany): my goal is to try and represent on paper the many phenomena of light and colour which are always a priority compared to the form and intangible narrative of the architecture. Instead to express colour differences during the night, I have chosen just one building that I can access more easily: a farmhouse in the hamlet of Titignano (Orvieto, Umbria).