PREFACE.

...reproach him for neglecting external religious practices and prayer in favor of his enthusiastic love of nature. "But let such detractors be silent," Leonardo responds, "for this is the way to know the Maker original: "Operatore." Leonardo frequently describes God as a master craftsman or supreme engineer of natural laws. of so many wonderful things, and this is the true way to love such a great inventor." (Lu., § 77.) Referencing the Ludwig edition of Leonardo's Treatise on Painting.

    Later, it is his own friends who mourn that slow and progressive desertion from art, which inexorably led Leonardo to lose himself in the endless labyrinth of science. Ugolino Verini A Florentine humanist poet (1438–1516) whose work celebrated the city's greatness. celebrated him then as the greatest among the best:

and perhaps Leonardo da Vinci surpasses everyone. original Latin: "et forsan superat Leonardus Vincius omnes."

But he immediately added:

but his right hand knows not how to leave the painting; original Latin: "tollere de tabula dextra sed nescit." A reference to Leonardo's perfectionism and his habit of leaving works unfinished (non-finito).

and he sought the cause of this slowness in Leonardo's inability to be satisfied:

On the Illustration of the City of Florence*. Paris, 1583, page 27.

and like

Protogenes A Greek painter of the 4th century BCE, famous for the meticulous care and many years he spent on a single painting. he finishes one work over many years.* original Latin: "et instar Protogenis multis unam perficit annis."

"He had the most beautiful inventions," the Anonymous Gaddiano The "Anonimo Gaddiano" (or Magliabechiano) is the unidentified author of a 16th-century manuscript containing biographies of Florentine artists. will later say, "but he did not color In this context, "color" refers to the final stages of a painting; Leonardo often completed the drawings and underpaintings but left the final layers unfinished. many things, because—"

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