they still remain contemporary though about 500-600 years have passed since his time of life.
- The first rule in painting is that the represented objects should appear in relief and the landscape that surrounds them at different distances should be displayed in the vertical surface of the foreground of the painting, through the three Perspective sectors which are: the reduction in the sharpness of the forms of the objects, the reduction in size and reduction in color. And of these three Perspective categories, the first is due to the structure of the eye, while the other two are caused by the atmosphere that interferes viewing.
- A very essential element in painting is the right action and the proportional variety of forms, so that men do not look all like brothers.
- Sometimes the objects may seem smaller or larger in the same eye.
- When a person lies down, his height is reduced to one ninth of the total.
- I believe that first you need to study the edges and their mechanism, and having gained this knowledge, you should work through their movements, depending on the conditions under which they occur in a human being.
- I’m telling you, to you when nature is urging you to deal with this art, that if you want to acquire a sound knowledge of the forms of objects, start from the details and do not proceed to the second step before you memorize and make sure that you possess in practice the first one. Otherwise you will waste your time, or at least prolong the period of your studies. Do not forget that the important thing is the care and diligence, not the speed.
- He who does not exceed his teacher is a bad student.
- Tell me now what is closest to the real human being: the name or the image of man? A person’s name differs from one country to another, while his form changes only within death.
- A painter fights and competes against nature.
- A new artist should first be taught the perspective and then the proportions of objects. Then, he can copy a good teacher to become familiar with the subtle forms. Next, he can copy from nature, in order to verify in practice the rules he has learned. Then, he needs to study for some time the works of various masters. He must then get used to practice and work hard upon his artwork.
- Nature has made sure to provide us enough forms to be emulated worldwide.
These are some of the magic advice of the great Italian painter Leonardo da Vinci, who was a sculptor, architect, inventor, mystic, scientist, astronomer, teacher and many other qualities accompanying the reputation and the work he left in the world reflection for new painters and new artists.
