Trattato della Pittura di Lionardo da Vinci (Treatise on Painting by Leonardo da Vinci)
Milano: Società Tipografica de' Classici italiani, 1804. Giovanni Boggi. Large 8vo, 9 1/2 x 7 1/8 inches (240 x 177 mm); 207 + 256 pp., printed on fine hand-made laid paper. Frontispiece portrait of the artist, publisher's device on title page and 60 plates in black ink, including three fold-outs; wide margins. Pages are clean and unmarked with light toning to the edges. Half vellum with marbled paper boards, gilt decorations, two title tickets on spine are mostly missing. Boards scuffed and edges chipped. Light tidemark to the edge of the last pages (index) not affecting the text block, otherwise pages are clean and unmarked, paper supple and plates fresh.
Leonardo da Vinci's "Treatise on Painting" is a collection of his notes and reflections on painting, organized by his student Francesco Melzi and published posthumously in 1651, and later in versions accompanied by illustrations. The work is based on Leonardo's idea of painting as a natural science, founded on direct observation and geometry, and has influenced academic art teaching for centuries. This edition is prefaced by a long essay by Carlo Amoretti (1741-1816), an Encyclopedist whose mind encompassed theology, physics, geology, paleography, geography, and art history. He translated scientific works, published or republished many rare books and manuscripts, including Antonio Pigafetta's relation of the first circumnavigation of the world by Ferdinand Magellan's fleet.
Condition: Very good+.
Item number: 1719
Price: $1,000.00
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