A Treatise on Painting

labor, the Magnificent Knight Giovanni Gherardo de Rossi, who, being a great lover of this author and competing with me to bring him to public light, has not only generously undertaken the present edition at his own expense, but has also wished to lend me his assistance in this matter. Furthermore, his son—a young man who joins the most refined manners with the knowledge of many noble disciplines—has faithfully highlighted the drawings within the Codex, and subsequently drew them on paper and organized them into plates according to my design. In order not to clutter the pages, which would have been marred by those copperplate prints, these have all been gathered together and are presented in a separate volume. To make this work even more useful and acceptable to students of this author and the fine arts, the aforementioned Mr. de Rossi, placing no limit on his courtesy, has added some of his own notes at the end. Because these were handled by a man who understands this subject so well, I believe they will be most welcome to every amateur and of great advantage to every craftsman. Other notes to clarify the text, which I had originally intended to include and which some might have desired, have been omitted. This was done not to avoid such a slight labor, but to prevent the volume from becoming excessively thick—being already sufficiently filled by the text—and also to avoid spoiling the clarity of the edition with the unsightly appearance of footnotes. I also considered that anyone reading this author should be sufficiently informed in his language to understand him, as he is neither so obscure nor so difficult that he cannot be understood by anyone with a basic knowledge of the native tongue original: "patrio sermone," referring to the Italian language.

And I here warn my readers that if they encounter any passage which seems somewhat obscure to them, or not conforming to regulated syntax according to some, it is written in that very form in the Vatican Codex. I have been extremely scrupulous in following the author's reading, not acting as an interpreter to make him speak in a modern fashion—as is the preference of some who, failing to comprehend concepts that are difficult for their dull wits, constantly croak against honest men who, for the benefit and splendor of Italy, setting aside every pastime and every joy, spend their lives without honors and without rich- The text cuts off mid-word; "ricchezze" or "riches" is implied.