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What are Alberti's views on the three divisions of painting?
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Leon Battista Alberti's views on painting, as outlined in "On Painting," focus on three key divisions: circumscription, composition, and the reception of light. Circumscription involves outlining with precision, using geometric principles. Composition refers to the harmonious arrangement of elements in the painting. The reception of light emphasizes how colors and shading reflect light, adding depth and realism. Alberti's integration of mathematical principles significantly influenced Renaissance art.
Leon Battista Alberti was an Italian architect and author during the early Renaissance period. He is recognized for writing De Pictura (On Painting) in 1435. His work ultimately had a profound influence on the renowned painters of this period, as he was the first to pen a conceptual directive on the difficulties of painting three-dimensional objects on two-dimensional canvas. Like the ancients, Alberti recognized the importance of geometrical and mathematical applications as they relate to the rational world. Therefore, he believed it was impossible to create a genuine painting without considering circumscription, composition, and the reflection of light.
Circumscription is the application of grid lines, linear perspective, and the use of vanishing points in a drawing. This requires an understanding of basic geometric principles and how they apply to what we observe in space. In addition, Alberti believed that the composition of an object must be studied before...
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attempting to draw the object. This requires a fundamental knowledge of ratio and proportion. When composing a drawing, the ratio of an adjacent object must be proportionate to the original object. Finally, Alberti understood that an accurate depiction of a target will appear to have a light source. By applying the appropriate shading in a painting to denote the reflection of light, an artist conveys the depth of the three-dimensional object.
The Renaissance period was a "rebirth," a return to the classical conceptual thought of the ancient Greeks. Leon Battista Alberti contributed to the development of this period by combining the principles of mathematics and the study of art. His influence can be observed in the work of the great painters of the Renaissance period.
References
In his treatise on painting, titled Della Pittura ("On Painting"), Alberti proposes that "the whole of painting" consists of three parts: circumscription, composition and the reception of light.
Circumscription, according to Alberti, is "the recording of the outlines, and if it is done with a very visible line, they will look in the painting, not like the margins of surfaces, but like cracks. I want only the external outlines to be set down in circumscription; and this should be practised assiduously."
Composition is the way everything in the painting fits together, "all the surfaces in their correct relationship."
The reception of light is connected with observation of the colors in the painting. Alberti said that color cannot be perceived without light, that it "receives all its variations from light."
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