Academy of the Most Noble Art of Painting

But so that I may untie all the knots of your doubts—which you consider Gordian knots Refers to the legend of the Gordian Knot, an "unsolvable" problem cut by Alexander the Great; here, Painting claims she can solve the argument easily.—with a single stroke: you yourself will be forced to admit, even against your will, that my labors require far more intellect and judgment than yours. For although it is true that once your material is carved away, it cannot easily be restored, and a statue can be completely ruined by a single mistake and must be cast aside; nevertheless, all these errors can be entirely avoided through long-standing caution, constant patience, and careful measurements. Thus, a statue is eventually brought to its perfection more by an indefatigable industry than by any specific judgment required for the task. And by what reasoning, I ask, could all your difficulties be compared with mine, if one only looks at what the Painting of fresh plaster original: "albarii," referring to fresco painting on wet lime. requires? For with what great effort and industry must the drawn works be expressed according to their models? With what diligence and skill must each part be distributed and coordinated there? So much so that your work, if compared with mine, should be called laborious patience rather than ingenious reasoning.

Let Sculpture have its own praise for judgment, which I will gladly grant in honor and for the comfort of all Sculptors. But on the other hand, what is not required in those paintings on fresh walls (in fresco)? There, the Painter cannot recognize his own colors while the material is so wet; yet the entire work must be started and finished on that one and the same day. He must nevertheless know with what vibrancy those same colors will emerge into the light once the work has dried, for it would be far too late if errors only became visible afterward. It does not lack intellect, I say, if a Sculptor fashions two or three figures from marble that can be viewed from every side. But if the skillful hand of the Painter often displays about forty or fifty figures on a single panel with such clever disposition and order—so that one is seen from the front, another from the side, a third from the back, and so on—all according to the requirements of the colors and shadows occurring here and there; and especially in more brilliant oil colors, where on a purely flat surface all things are nevertheless shown as rounded and raised with true life: what ingenuity, I ask, and what sharpness of judgment do you think is required there?

I challenge you, O Sculpture: try and show me all the Elements with all their properties, just as I am accustomed to provide them according to the very dictates of nature. Let the true element of Air be carved for me in stone, with its proper light and darkness, so that it is filled on every side with every kind of bird flying about. Let your art give Water its transparency, and let the fish have their fins and scales as nature provides. Let the impetuous motions and foam of the sea-waves be shown, in which the Sirens seek their delights with sweet-sounding voices. Let the Earth, the nourishing mother of living things, be brought forth in your work, with her lap open—

—producing the tender buds of plants, and the slender leaves of shoots with all the richness of both flowers and fruits, so that nothing is missing for the trembling inhabitants of the dark forests. Finally, let your art show me the heat of a raging fire in its natural appearance, belching forth globes of smoke all around, together with the gradual increase of the light itself; or the approaching evening, with the dark night arriving through the dusky gates of twilight, while the chariots of Phaethon In mythology, Phaethon drove the chariot of the Sun; here used as a metaphor for sunset. are brought back to their nocturnal pastures. Truly, you could never touch all these things with your finger; yet the ingenious Painter, through his sharp observations and skillful methods of invention, is accustomed to represent all these things according to the living model of Nature. And I have said these few things to show with what impudent boldness you seek a prerogative over me.

Having thus heard both sides, Sculpture seemed to me to have burst forth with far too much feverish force; Painting, however, avenged herself with a sarcastic and mocking laugh rather than any boiling over of the heart. And since I have consecrated many hours of my life to the contemplation of Sculpture—but on the other hand, have practiced the art of painting for many years (as much as the smallness of my modest studies allows, to which several small works I have left in various places can testify)—I have finally decided to give my judgment, such as it is, concerning this contest over the preeminence of Nobility. However, I do so with a solemn protest that I first remove all arrogance from myself; nor do I intend by this opinion of mine to prejudice the word of anyone who may feel differently. Indeed, I hope that in bringing these things forward—which I seem to understand—I will not, like that Peripatetic Phormio of Ephesus A philosopher who lectured Hannibal, the great general, on the art of war without having any military experience. who discussed the arts of war though inexperienced, be held up to laughter and mocked by Hannibal (that is, by all posterity) for my impudent ignorance.

I judge, therefore, that these two arts are twin sisters of the same womb, nourished at the same breast; just as they were brought into the light by the same labor from one mother, which is Design and Distribution, or the Art of Drawing original: "Ars Diagraphica," the foundational skill of outlining and planning a composition.. Therefore, neither is preferred by me over the other, except insofar as an artist surpasses another in the perfection and excellence of the Art itself. And although on one side one may sometimes stand above the other, as if competing for glory, in another case the other climbs higher again. Thus, if examined on a stricter scale, both have equal perfection and equal Nobility, no differently than if two bodies had at least one soul by which they were animated. Indeed, they cannot even be conveniently divided, as experience itself testifies in many cases; hence many Painters have simultaneously fashioned beautiful statues, just as conversely the art of Painting was practiced by many Sculptors, as can be read at greater length in the lives of Leonardo da Vinci, Antonio Pollaiuolo, and Michelangelo Buonarroti. Especially this last one, who ascended to such a peak of excellence in both these arts...