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Original fileDraftsman drawing a lute) - AD (monogram), 1525 LCCN92518203
About This Work
An artist stands to the left holding a weighted string that marks a point of sight on a lute, while his assistant marks the corresponding point on a hinged wooden frame. This process allows the complex, curved shape of the instrument to be mathematically translated into a flat image through a series of plotted dots. The scene illustrates the rigorous application of geometry and optics to the mastery of the visual world.
This work represents the Renaissance shift toward understanding the physical world through the lens of Euclidean geometry and natural philosophy. It reflects the Neoplatonic ideal that mathematical proportions underlie all of creation, making the 'book of nature' legible through human reason and measurement.
Inscriptions(Dutch)
mit einem anderen puncten aber also piß das du die gantzen lauten gar an die tafel punctirst / dann zeuch all puncten die auf der tafel von der lauten worden sind mit linien zusamẽ so sichst du was dar- auß wirt / also magst du ander ding auch abzeychnen. Dise meynung hab ich hernach aufgerissen. 1525 AD Vnd damit günstiger lieber Herr: will ich meinem schreyben end geben / vnd so mir Got genad ver- leycht die bücher so ich von menschlicher proporcion vñ anderen darzu gehörend geschryben hab mit der zeyt in druck pringen / vnd darpey meniglich gewarnet haben / ob sich yemant vnder- steen wurd mir diß außgangen büchlein wider nach zu drucken / das ich das selb auch wider drucken will / vñ auß lassen geen mit meren vnd grösserem zusatz dañ ietz beschehen ist / darnach mag sich ein yetlicher richten / Got dem Herren sey lob vnd eer ewigklich. Q iii Gedruckt zu Nürnberg. Im. 1525. Jar.
Translation
with another point, however, in such a way that you mark the whole lute onto the tablet, then draw all the points that have been made on the tablet from the lute together with lines, so you see what comes of it; in this way you may also draw other things. This opinion I have sketched out hereafter. 1525 AD And therewith, gracious dear Sir, I will bring my writing to an end, and if God grants me grace, bring to press in time the books which I have written regarding human proportion and other things pertaining thereto, and therewith have warned everyone: if anyone should venture to reprint this little book that I have brought out, that I myself will also print it again, and let it go forth with more and greater additions than has now been done; accordingly may everyone govern themselves. To God the Lord be praise and honor eternally. Q iii Printed at Nuremberg. In the year 1525.
Connected Texts
Underweysung der Messung (Treatise on Measurement) by Albrecht Dürer
This woodcut is a primary illustration from the text, demonstrating the practical application of geometric perspective to art.
Provenance & Source
Object
Engraving
scientific
Digital Source
Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Library of Congress Catalog: https://lccn.loc.gov/92518203 Image download: https://cdn.loc.gov/service/pnp/cph/3b40000/3b41000/3b41400/3b41463r.jpg Original url: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/92518203/
Public domain
962 × 1536 px
448fd3f67f87387abbc32907d38199c9a5553f07
May 18, 2018
March 24, 2026
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on April 1, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.