Perspectival Unrealism

Name any cliché about architecture and perspective, and the drawings by the Bibiena family on view at the Morgan Library & Museum promise to explode it. Perspective often is said to be the drawing of realism; here it is the drawing of fantasy. Perspective is for a final rendering; here it is a designer’s working drawing. Perspective, art historian Yve-Alain Bois once wrote, “petrifies the viewer” like the glare of Medusa, by implying an immobile point of view. Yet the Bibiena drawings animate their spaces as if through parallax, with layers of depth poised to spring into motion. Mostly ink-and-wash illustrations of stage designs, the drawings at the Morgan are a rare pleasure to see in person. For those familiar with the Bibienas’ work through published engravings, the originals offer a richness of light and depth that few engravings capture. But be sure to linger long enough in t…