Seventeenth-century controversies about the representation of the sun's shadow. The manuscript "Artes excelençias de la Perspectiba" in context

Abstract

Some of the ‘geometric contradictions’ in certain works, especially manuscripts about perspective, can be used to understand which paradigms in the history of representation clash with each other. The manuscript Artes Exçelençias de la Perspectiba introduces us to this important chapter in the history of perspective, not only in Spain, but throughout the seventeenth century in Europe. During this period solutions were found, tested and formulated regarding the delicate problem of the graphic control of shadows produced by sunlight – or “striking” – within the perspective method.