Artist, architect, poet and philosopher, Leon Battista Alberti revolutionized the history of art with his theories of perspective in On Painting (1435). Inspired by the order and beauty inherent in nature, his groundbreaking work sets out the principles of distance, dimension and proportion; instructs the painter on how to use the rules of composition, representation, light and colour to create work that is graceful and pleasing to the eye; and stipulates the moral and artistic pre-requisites of the successful painter. On Painting had an immediate and profound influence on Italian Renaissance artists including Ghiberti, Fra Angelico and Veneziano and on later figures such as Leonardo da Vinci, and remains a compelling theory of art.
On Painting (Classics)
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Leon Battista Alberti was the archetype of the Renaissance 'universal man'. Bron in Genoa in 1404, he belonged to one of the wealthy merchant-banker families of Florence, and was sent to boarding school in Padua where he received a classical Latin education. Graduating in canon law from the University of Bologna, he subsequently entered the service of the Church and became a secretary in the Papal Chancery at Rome. Taking holy orders, he returned to Florence in 1434, where his association with Donatello and Brunelleschi led to the book On Painting and his interest in the design of Churches. He died in Rome in 1472.
Cecil Grayson was Serena Professor of Italian Studies and Fellow of Magdalen College from 1958 to 1987 and was honoured by numerous Italian academies. The leading authority on Alberti's written work, he was awarded the CBE in 1992.
Martin Kemp has been Professor of the History of Art at the University of Oxford since 1995.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is effectively a textbook for Renaissance artists. It is split into three sections, the first dealing predominantly with issues of composition and perspective, the second with light and shade, colour and the artist's duty to his art and his public, and the third predominantly with what qualities one must bring to the job of being an artist.
If you are only loosely interested in art as a pragmatic practice, and you don't have some mathematical knowledge which will steer you through the first section it may be rather impenetrable in places. I am one of these people and found myself really struggling with the first section.
It is however fascinating as a glimpse into the mindset of a humanist scholar and as someone practicing on the cusp of what will become the Renaissance. I picked this up because I am studying Leonardo Da Vinci and this book was massively influential on him. This is what is most fascinating to me, that the things which Leonardo did and propounded, and which many people judge him as a genius for, were already laid out in essence in this book, written many years before.
This is a short book, coming in at 96 pages, with thirty odd of those taken up by the introduction. The introduction however is very valuable and to me the most illuminating part of the book, one which certainly gave me enough impetus to keep going with the actual text itself. The introduction is written by Martin Kemp, a world renowned expert on Leonardo Da Vinci. His writing is fluent, interesting and illuminating.
If you are only loosely interested in art as a pragmatic practice, and you don't have some mathematical knowledge which will steer you through the first section it may be rather impenetrable in places. I am one of these people and found myself really struggling with the first section.
It is however fascinating as a glimpse into the mindset of a humanist scholar and as someone practicing on the cusp of what will become the Renaissance. I picked this up because I am studying Leonardo Da Vinci and this book was massively influential on him. This is what is most fascinating to me, that the things which Leonardo did and propounded, and which many people judge him as a genius for, were already laid out in essence in this book, written many years before.
This is a short book, coming in at 96 pages, with thirty odd of those taken up by the introduction. The introduction however is very valuable and to me the most illuminating part of the book, one which certainly gave me enough impetus to keep going with the actual text itself. The introduction is written by Martin Kemp, a world renowned expert on Leonardo Da Vinci. His writing is fluent, interesting and illuminating.
34 of 38 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I ordered the book after it cropped up in my research for a university assignment on renaissance art techniques, I barely needed any other source material. Brilliantly written by Alberti, and translated like you wouln't believe. Never before have I seen a text that details all the inner workings of a renaissance artists studio like this. A must for all lovers of renaissance art, and essential for all students of art history.
10 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is a great read as well as a wealth of knowledge.
Small enough to fit in your pocket, the book takes you through different periods in time, exploring different artists and their styles of paintings.
A great book to take with you to the gallery and alike....or even just to boost your art knowledge so that you can show off to your friends and actually look like you know about art.
Also, a great help for people studying art and/or the history or art.
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