{"id":66543,"date":"2025-07-15T11:11:38","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T11:11:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.accartbooks.com\/uk\/book\/italian-frescoes\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T16:17:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T16:17:09","slug":"imaging-heaven-the-art-and-architecture-of-illusion","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/www.accartbooks.com\/uk\/book\/imaging-heaven-the-art-and-architecture-of-illusion\/","title":{"rendered":"Imaging Heaven: The Art and Architecture of Illusion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Imaging Heaven<\/em><\/strong> is a visual narrative of frescoed church ceilings, photographed across Italy and Catholic Europe. Moving from the Proto-Renaissance to the Baroque, the book follows painters as they confront a fundamental problem: how to make the unseen realm of heaven perceptible amid profound shifts in cosmology, theology, and science.<\/p>\n

Guided by threads of light, gesture, and illusion, the photographs reveal how painters moved from shadowless gold grounds rooted in Byzantine techniques to radiant, sophisticated illumination; turned hieratic icons into anatomically precise, emotionally charged bodies; and dissolved architectural boundaries with a photographic study of trompe-l’oeil, quadratura, <\/em>and di sotto in s<\/em>ù effects that open ceilings onto boundless celestial space. Works by artists such as Correggio, Pozzo, and Tiepolo mark key moments in this ascent to Baroque theatricality.<\/p>\n

Imaging Heaven<\/em><\/strong> situates these painted heavens within wider intellectual shifts—from Aristotelian and Ptolemaic cosmology to Copernican and Galilean discoveries, and from Reformation turmoil to Counter-Reformation efforts to move and persuade believers. In this expanded universe, ceiling frescoes relocate the hierarchical cosmos onto church vaults, transforming churches into sacred theaters where radiant light, illusionistic depth, and emotionally expressive figures create immersive and engaging encounters with the divine, turning an upward glance into an experience of transcendence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this compelling photographic journey Arthur Becker captures the intensity and power of the ceiling frescoes of the Renaissance and Baroque periods.
Introduction 5
\nThe Imagination of Heaven 6
\nPicturing Heaven: Photographs of 10
\nIllusionistic Ceiling Frescoes
\nDaniel Sherer
\nTimeline: 1300–1800 20
\nDivine Presence 26
\nLux Divina 31
\nPainted Illumination 41
\nGlorification 48
\nGesture 54
\nIcons, Emotions, and Stories 59
\nSpirits and Souls 87
\nElements of Illusion 112
\nTrompe l’Oeil 118
\nQuadratura 125
\nDi Sotto in Sù 142
\nBel Composto 157
\nCelestial Visions 166
\nPostscript 202
\nAcknowledgments 202
\nBiographical Notes 203
\nIndex 204
\nImage Credits 206<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":79370,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":""},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[5568],"product_tag":[],"class_list":["post-66543","product","type-product","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","product_cat-art","author-by-author-arthur-becker","author-by-author-dan-sherer","publisher-oro-editions","first","instock","shipping-taxable","purchasable","product-type-simple"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nImaging Heaven: The Art and Architecture of Illusion - ACC Art Books UK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Title: Imaging Heaven: The Art and Architecture of Illusion, Pages: 208 Pages, Publish Date: 19th Oct 2026, Author: Arthur Becker, Dan Sherer, ISBN: 9781961856622. In this compelling photographic journey Arthur Becker captures the intensity and power of the ceiling frescoes of the Renaissance and Baroque periods.Introduction 5 The Imagination of Heaven 6 Picturing Heaven: Photographs of 10 Illusionistic Ceiling Frescoes Daniel Sherer Timeline: 1300–1800 20 Divine Presence 26 Lux Divina 31 Painted Illumination 41 Glorification 48 Gesture 54 Icons, Emotions, and Stories 59 Spirits and Souls 87 Elements of Illusion 112 Trompe l’Oeil 118 Quadratura 125 Di Sotto in Sù 142 Bel Composto 157 Celestial Visions 166 Postscript 202 Acknowledgments 202 Biographical Notes 203 Index 204 Image Credits 206\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.accartbooks.com\/uk\/book\/italian-frescoes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Imaging Heaven: The Art and Architecture of Illusion - ACC Art Books UK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Title: Imaging Heaven: The Art and Architecture of Illusion, Pages: 208 Pages, Publish Date: 19th Oct 2026, Author: Arthur Becker, Dan Sherer, ISBN: 9781961856622. In this compelling photographic journey Arthur Becker captures the intensity and power of the ceiling frescoes of the Renaissance and Baroque periods.Introduction 5 The Imagination of Heaven 6 Picturing Heaven: Photographs of 10 Illusionistic Ceiling Frescoes Daniel Sherer Timeline: 1300–1800 20 Divine Presence 26 Lux Divina 31 Painted Illumination 41 Glorification 48 Gesture 54 Icons, Emotions, and Stories 59 Spirits and Souls 87 Elements of Illusion 112 Trompe l’Oeil 118 Quadratura 125 Di Sotto in Sù 142 Bel Composto 157 Celestial Visions 166 Postscript 202 Acknowledgments 202 Biographical Notes 203 Index 204 Image Credits 206\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.accartbooks.com\/uk\/book\/italian-frescoes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ACC Art Books UK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ACCArtBooks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-20T16:17:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@accartbooks\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accartbooks.com\\\/uk\\\/book\\\/italian-frescoes\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accartbooks.com\\\/uk\\\/book\\\/italian-frescoes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Imaging Heaven: The Art and Architecture of Illusion - ACC Art Books UK\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accartbooks.com\\\/uk\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accartbooks.com\\\/uk\\\/book\\\/italian-frescoes\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accartbooks.com\\\/uk\\\/book\\\/italian-frescoes\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.accartbooks.com\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/books\\\/9781961856622-04-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-15T11:11:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-20T16:17:09+00:00\",\"description\":\"Title: Imaging Heaven: The Art and Architecture of Illusion, Pages: 208 Pages, Publish Date: 19th Oct 2026, Author: Arthur Becker, Dan Sherer, ISBN: 9781961856622. 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