A Treatise on Painting

world, and with those same hands he Referring to the Emperor Antoninus mentioned on the previous page. sometimes delighted in handling the brushes. Everyone knows the love she Queen Christina. bears for literature and for all the fine arts, and the world admires her as a protector and possessor of even the most hidden sciences; it is amazed to see her rule so happily united with so many virtuous qualities. Hoping, therefore, that this work—which I have consecrated to her merits and which carries on its front the August name of Your Majesty—will be welcomed by you, I have entreated Monsieur Bourdelot Pierre Michon Bourdelot (1610–1685), a French physician and scholar who was a prominent figure at the Queen's court in Stockholm., the delight of the learned men of our nation and one who has a particular taste for matters of painting, to present it to Your Majesty, so that through the kindness of the presenter, the gift may acquire more grace in your eyes.

The author Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519)., who wrote at the beginning of the last century, was favored by great princes; and King Francis I Francis I of France (reigned 1515–1547), a major patron of the Renaissance who invited Leonardo to spend his final years in France., who like Your Majesty was the guardian deity of the talented, wished to have him in his court despite his advanced age, and it is known that he died in the King’s arms A famous, though likely apocryphal, legend popularized by Vasari to illustrate the high status of artists.. Fortunate old man! Since today it is his good fortune to live again in the hands of a lady who, by her rule over so many fierce and warlike nations, can be called the most powerful, and by her rule of virtue, the most complete and glorious princess of the universe. Those who speak the language of the gods A poetic reference to poets and philosophers. must, with one voice, call her the Queen of Parnassus In Greek mythology, Mount Parnassus was the home of the Muses; calling her its Queen designates her as the ultimate patron of the arts and sciences..

But rather than penetrate further into the vast field of her praises—this being a subject not suited to the slenderness of my style—I come to humbly entreat Your Majesty to accept my labors. For the sake of the reputation of Leonardo da Vinci and for the public utility, I have restored a very important work which, accompanied by your illustrious name, shall overcome the shadows of oblivion and pass into the most distant posterity. I shall remain happy if you deign to receive it with a kindly brow, just as I give and dedicate it with the deep affection of my heart, being no less reverent of your greatness than an admirer of your glories.

Humblest and most devoted
servant,
RAPHAËL TRICHET
DU FRESNE.