On Painting Summary and Analysis, Leon Battista Alberti...

On painting Summary and Analysis The selection from Leon Battista Alberti’s On painting is mainly divided into 5 paragraphs numbered 25 through 29. Just as the title suggests, the text deals with the art of painting and its virtues. It talks about the benefits painting offers to the artist and why they are valuable, as well as showing the importance a work of art gives to the object being painted. While referring to many examples in history, Alberti also compares painting to the other â€Å"crafts† and explains why it is more noble, as well as more enjoyable and self-satisfactory. To begin with, Alberti explains why painting is â€Å"worthy of all our attention and study,†(60) seeing as learning it might seem a difficult and tedious†¦show more content†¦Alberti makes it clear that he is not concerned with painting’s origins, even though he briefly discusses them. Subsequently, the author uses old writings as reference to strengthen his point of view on how hi ghly painting is esteemed above other â€Å"crafts† history. It is therefore clear that the author believes painting to be somewhat in metaphysical nature, something beyond the ordinary. Throughout history, specifically in ancient Rome and Greece, people admired painting to the point where it was taught to every son of respectable families, yet forbidden to the slaves. This goes to show how this form of art in particular was considered fit only to those of high social class. Although it was reserved for the educated and cultured, painting attracted everyone and pleased them equally. In particular, â€Å"[n]ature herself delights in painting.†(Alberti 64) Alberti persists in showing us how painting is of nature; he first references nature by saying that Narcissus was the inventor of painting. In the myth of Narcissus, nature plays the role of the artist who paints a portrait so beautiful that Narcissus cannot take his eyes off of it. To further convince the reader of th e pleasures painting gives, the author recounts a personal anecdote of how gratifying and relaxing painting can be. In the final paragraph, Alberti discusses the motives of excelling in