The articulation of actual and illusionistic space in Tuscan family chapels and frescoes, in the tre- and quattrocento

Abstract

THE ARTICULATION OF ACTUAL AND ILLUSIONISTIC SPACE IN TUSCAN FAMILY CHAPELS AND FRESCOES, IN THE TRE- AND QUATTROCENTO PRENDINI, Pamela Janet Geraldine, M.A., University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 1989. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the articulation of chapel space, wall surface, and type of pictorial illusionism in five selected Tuscan chapels, and their frescoes, in the Tre- and Quattrocento. The aims of this research include an analysis of mural decoration in family chapels, as defining the wall surface, creating illusionism, establishing fictional views through perspective, and emphasizing or concealing the solidity of the architectural surface. This study will also investigate the interrelationship of fresco iconography with chapel function so as to establish a communication between chapel space and pictorial surface. The research methods and procedure employed is based on an appraisal of the literature of the period, historical background, patronage, architecture, and formal, symbolic, and narrative considerations within the frescoes. The role of the spectator, the importance of framework, false architecture, and grisaille form part of the conclusions on each chapel totality. A field study was essential to this research. The dissertation consists of seven chapters. The conclusions of the research are the total interaction of real, symbolic, and illusionistic space in the frescoes and architecture of the family chapel in Tuscany