Author Description

Leonardo's writings on painting were never edited by Leonardo himself into a coherent treatise. The book known as Leonardo's Treatise on Painting, first published in 1651, comprises a compilation of quotations, described by one early translator as a "chaos of intelligence." This anthology aims to bring order into the chaos, so Leonardo's views can be read in a logical and sequential manner. The authors have edited material not only from the Treatise but also from Leonardo's surviving manuscripts and from other primary sources, some of which are here translated for the first time. Included among these are Leonardo's own letters and memoranda, letters by contemporaries, and important documents to which he was a signatory. The book begins by looking at Leonardo's general principles of painting. Then follow sections on the optical foundations of art, the human body, the appearance of nature, and the practice of painting, including instructions for the artist and evocative accounts of subject matter.--From publisher description.