Meta-architecture theoresis and quiddity, a brief demonstration of the concept of metaphysics of the work of art

Abstract

There is in the architectural form a 'quid', something that appears and at the same time transcends it: a quid beyond the visible, a substance (from the Latin sub-stanzia, 'that which is below') that is not visible to the eye, but which appears to the Inner Eye; an essential something that constitutes its identity, its soul, the consciousness that the author, the architect, has instilled in it. Now, that this is true, I cannot assert here (along philosophical lines) by intuitive means alone, but I must also demonstrate it with concepts and facts rationally taken from the observation of great works. I will therefore demonstrate how each great author has worked and realised his best works not from a merely physical plane of architecture, but from a higher level that can be defined as meta-architecture and/or metaphysics of the work of art. This dimension can be accessed partly by rational, reflective means and partly by intuitive means. And whoever has access never returns empty-handed, but with an ideal form that punctually takes on matter or sensible form.