A Treatise on Painting (Dover Fine Art, History of Art)

This work is the principal repository of da Vinci's practical thoughts on the technique of drawing and painting. It begins with precise instructions on drawing the human body and then moves on to techniques of rendering motion. Includes 48 anatomical drawings by Nicholas Poussin and geometrical and architectural designs by Leon Battista Alberti.;Title Page; Copyright Page; Epigraph; Table of Contents; DRAWING.; PROPORTION.; ANATOMY.; MOTION AND EQUIPOISE OF FIGURES.; LINEAR PERSPECTIVE.; INVENTION, OR COMPOSITION.; EXPRESSION AND CHARACTER.; LIGHT AND SHADOW.; CONTRAST AND EFFECT.; REFLEXES.; COLOURS AND COLOURING.; COLOURS.; COLOURS IN REGARD TO LIGHT AND SHADOW.; COLOURS IN REGARD TO BACKGROUNDS.; CONTRAST, HARMONY, AND REFLEXES, IN REGARD TO COLOURS.; PERSPECTIVE OF COLOURS.; AERIAL PERSPECTIVE.; MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS.; LANDSCAPE.; MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS. "The genius of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) shines forth in major paintings such as the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper and his many drawings. How Leonardo accomplished these astounding works of art is shown in A Treatise on Painting, published in 1651, essentially a primer for students interested in learning the craft of drawing and painting.". "Leonardo begins with careful instructions on drawing the main features of human anatomy, and then moves on to techniques of rendering motion and perspective. He discusses aspects of good composition; inventiveness; the expression of various emotions; creating effects of light, shadow, and color; and many other subtle points of artistic form. Throughout, Leonardo stresses the importance of meticulous study of the subjects to be rendered and the need for assiduous practice.". "This edition is complete with anatomical drawings by the French classicist master Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665) and geometrical illustrations by the great Italian Renaissance architect Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472), as well as an informative biography of Leonardo and an appendix that lists the artist's manuscripts, principal paintings, and drawings."--BOOK JACKET. "Leonardo da Vinci's written observations about painting rank among the most remarkable from any era. Never edited by the author himself into a single coherent book, these writings were compiled many years after Leonardo's death into the principal repository of his practical thoughts on the techniques of drawing and painting. A Treatise on Painting begins with precise instructions on drawing the human body and then moves on to techniques of rendering motion. Other topics include perspective, composition, the expression of various emotions, creating effects of light and shadow, and color. With 48 anatomical drawings by Nicholas Poussin and geometrical and architectural designs by Leon Battista Alberti, this famous volume remains one of the world's most useful and valuable art instruction books" [source éditeur] The principal repository of da Vinci's practical thoughts on the technique of drawing and painting. Precise instructions on drawing the human, techniques of rendering motion, perspective, composition, the expression of various emotions, more.