Painting contains a divine force which not only makes absent men present, as friendship… — Leon Battista Alberti
Painting contains a divine force which not only makes absent men present, as friendship is said to do, but moreover makes the dead seem almost alive.
In the original Latin
Nam habet ea quidem in se uim admodum divinam : non modo quod ut de amicitia dicunt, absentes pictura praesentes esse faciat : ureum etiam defunctos longa post secula uiuentibus exhibeat, ut summa cum artificis admiratione, ac uisentium ulouptate cognoscatur.
1435
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Current citation
Alberti, Leon Battista. On Painting, translated by John R. Spencer. Yale University Press, 1966, bk. 2.
Original citation
Alberti, Leon Battista. De Pictura [On Painting]. c. 1450, bk. 2.
