Leonardo Da Vinci's Paragone: A Critical Interpretation With a New Edition of the Text in the Codex Urbinas (Brill's Studies in Intellectual History) (English, Italian and Italian Edition)

Leonardo da Vinci's arguments for the supremacy of painting over the arts of poetry, music, and sculpture address issues that have been relevant to debates over the nature of representation since the time Plato discussed imitation until today, maintains Claire Farago in this wide-ranging critical analysis of the first important modern contribution to the comparison of the arts. This study systematically examines 46 passages compiled in the mid-sixteenth century from eighteen of Leonardo's notebooks and their relationship to the artist's holograph writings on painting, providing a critical transcription newly made from the Codex Vaticanus Urbinas 1270 and a new English translation with extensive notes that take into account Leonardo's scientific terminology, the highly contrived form of his rhetorical argumentation, and the role played by his original editors. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND PREFACE LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ABBREVIATIONS PART ONE. CRITICAL INTERPRETATION CHAPTER ONE. THE PARAGONE The Term Paragone The Manuscript Sources LEONARDO'S WRITINGS IN THE HISTORY OF THE PARAGONE The Sixteenth Century The Early Seventeenth Century CHAPTER TWO. THE RIVALRY OF THE ARTS IN LEONARDO'S TIME THE FORMAL SOURCES OF POLEMICAL COMPARISONS OF THE ARTS The Epideictic Tradition The Ancient Agon and Medieval Poetic Contests Rivalry of the Arts at the Sforza Court Practice of the 'Rival' Arts The Oral Tradition Renaissance Adaptations of Traditional Forms THE SUBSTANTIVE SOURCES OF POLEMICS COMPARING THE ARTS Debates on the Classification of the Liberal Arts Florentine Debates over the Status of Poetry The Nature of Nobility The Issue of Method CHAPTER THREE. LEONARDO'S DEFENSE OF PAINTING An Overview of Leonardo's Arguments The Visual Force of Painted Images The "Trattato Sequences": Apparent and Pictorial Color "Bello Rilievo" and the Problem of Pupil Dilation Principles of the Science of Painting: Treatment of Boundaries On Leonardo's Contribution to Pictorial Perspective CHAPTER FOUR. LEONARDO'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE 'PARACONE' TRADITION The Status of the Sixteenth-Century Artist Postscript PART TWO. THE PARTE PRIMA OF THE CODEX VATICANUS URBINAS 1270 INTRODUCTION Physical Features of the Manuscript History of the Compilation The Manuscript Sources of the 'Parte Prima' The Role of the Compilers of the Codex Urbinas Editorial Procedures TABLE OF CONTENTS OF THE 'PARTE PRIMA' Italian Texts Translation COMMENTARY NOTES SECTION 1. Definitions of Painting, Chapters 1-12 SECTION 2. Comparisons of Painting and Poetry, Chapters 13-28 SECTION 3. Comparisons of Painting and Music, Chapters 29-32 SECTION 4. Comparisons of Painting and the Mechanical Arts, Chapters 33 and 34 SECTION 5. Comparisons of Painting and Sculpture, Chapters 35-45; and Chapter 46 on Poetry APPENDIX 1. 'Trattato Sequences' in Leonardo's Writings APPENDIX 2. Guide to Related Passages in the Original Manuscripts CONSOLIDATED BIBLIOGRAPHY PHOTOGRAPHIC ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS INDEX Examines the relationship of 46 passages compiled in the mid-sixteenth century from Leonardo's notebooks to his holograph writings on painting, providing a critical transcription newly made from the Parte Prima of the Codex Urbinas and a new English translation, with a historical introduction in four chapters and scholarly notes.