A Treatise on Painting

we come to its rescue, to elevate and direct imitation, and to discover and correct those defects that are sometimes encountered even in nature itself. This Philosophy has, however, been granted to very few craftsmen, and those who possess it can be called truly perfect, because art becomes richer in their hands; furthermore, learned craftsmen deserve greater praise and far more credit through their advice and writings than the simple words of those who—whether they practice the art well or poorly—know nothing of it other than the exercise of it. This truth was seen in Leon Battista Alberti, the Florentine; who, having applied himself to literature and perfectly understanding architecture, dictated the wisest instructions on the fine arts above any other of his century. Through these, it was recognized by craftsmen that mere practice in the arts was not enough, and that it was necessary to join to it the study of philosophy. Moved by this principle, the most intelligent men gave themselves over to investigating nature by means of philosophy, and by the completion of the 15th Century original: "Secolo XV", to the eternal glory of modern Italy, those men were already born and working who, in the fine arts, were destined to equal the fame of the most celebrated ancients.

However, the one among these great men who was the most philosophical craftsman, and who, being versed in every study, proved excellent in all—making the most difficult secrets of every science and every art his own—was, without anyone disputing it, Leonardo da Vinci, the Florentine Painter and Sculptor. Not content that his discoveries in the art of painting should be useful to himself alone, he wrote for the common benefit an extensive Treatise Referring to the Trattato della pittura, a collection of Leonardo's notes on art and science., which can be called the foundation and the principle of the art. The wandering life of the author in his final years, or perhaps his own nature—never satisfied with any work—were likely the reasons that, as it was never published while he lived, it remained thereafter unknown and buried until the year 1651. In that year, a part of it was drawn from the darkness and published in Paris by Raffaele Du Fresne. This edition proved most welcome to lovers of Painting, and because the edition was sold out due to the many requests that came from every place, another very similar edition was made in Naples in the year 1733, in which, except for the beauty of the printing, the paper, and the copperplate engravings, which are far su—