The ‘Pictorial Form’ As a Social Datum

The aim of this contribution is to show how painting, not only in its content aspect but above all in its formal aspect, constitutes a social ‘datum’ of great interest for scientific research. A ‘datum’ taken not as a numerical value, but as a conceptualisation of socio-historical experience realised in the form of an image.

We refer above all to the formal aspect of pictorial art because it is precisely in the formal constitution of the work and the pictorial space that a semantic field is defined that is capable of producing, enhancing and reflecting the constitution of political-social relations. A good example of this is the Renaissance perspective construction and its subsequent dissolution.