Alberti On Painting Quotes & Sayings

The greatest work of an artist is the history of a painting. — Leon Battista Alberti

I prefer you to take as your model a mediocre sculpture rather than an excellent painting, for from painted objects we train our hand only to make a likeness, whereas from sculptures we learn to represent both likeness and correct incidence of light. — Leon Battista Alberti

I would have artists be convinced that the supreme skill and art in painting consists in knowing how to use black and white ... because it is light and shade that make objects appear in relief. — Leon Battista Alberti

Painting is possessed of divine power, for not only does it make the absent present, but also makes the dead almost alive. — Leon Battista Alberti

Painting contains a divine force which ... makes the dead seem almost alive. — Leon Battista Alberti

I certainly consider a great appreciation of painting to be the best indication of a most perfect mind ... — Leon Battista Alberti