How Alberti Turned Art Into Understandable Theory
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How Alberti Turned Art Into Understandable Theory

It's as difficult as explaining how to ride a bike.

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How Alberti Turned Art Into Understandable Theory

Have you ever tried to explain to someone how to ride a bike? Or how to drive a car? Many consider those things to be more intuitive; you have to learn by actually doing them, instead of trying to understand them by reading a manual. That’s how people thought about visual art before Leon Battista Alberti’s treatise, "On Painting" (1435). This was the first work to theorize painting; it is an instruction manual, telling its readers how to paint. Prior to this, painting was a practical mode of expression, so Alberti’s treatise is an interesting look into how to express something that is considered more practical than theoretical.

Alberti tries to explain linear perspective, a concept that was new at the time. In order to explain this, he needed to use mathematical concepts, such as proportion. In a particular passage, Alberti attempts to explain the mathematical proposition regarding the existence of similar triangles. This was really difficult to explain, and the most important thing for Alberti was making his text accessible, and not so abstract that people accustomed to practical learning wouldn’t understand him.

When trying to explain similar triangles, he begins by stating a mathematical proposition. But, in the spirit of being accessible, he doesn’t actually prove his proposition. Instead, he approaches his argument in a more round-a-bout fashion by discussing the existence of a property known as proportionality. This is because proportionality is the most relevant thing for painters to understand from this section of his treatise.

Alberti even tries to make his mathematical proposition more accessible by using an explanation of the word “parallel” instead of actually using the jargon. He uses the phrase ““and this intersecting line, [...] is equidistant from one of the sides of the first triangle.” A simpler way to express this is: The intersecting line is parallel to the third side/base of the triangle. However, Alberti has not defined or used the word parallel prior to this argument and does not wish to confuse the reader by including a new word. This makes his proposition more accessible to the painter as it requires less prior knowledge of mathematics. The word parallel is specifically irrelevant given that Alberti does not actually prove the proposition, but talks about proportionality instead. However, the lack of this word makes his rhetoric seem more wordy and convoluted, or less elegant. His priorities (to be understood) seem to take precedence over sounding fancy.

After his proposition, he continues on to orient the reader to “what is meant by proportional.” This is only a small aspect of the initial argument, but by narrowing down the relevant portion of his proposition, he causes the reader to focus on the part of the mathematical proposition they will actually use. This utilitarian approach is effective because the reader has less to understand, and the text, in itself, is more accessible. Although he isn’t thorough and only explains this single aspect of his proposition, this passage explains the portion of similarity relevant to painting (that is proportionality) and serves its purpose.

The language of Alberti’s explanation of proportionately is more accessible than the mathematical proposition he began with. He gives us definition of proportion by example, instead of an abstract and wordy definition. “We say that triangles are proportional when their sides and angles stand in the same relationship to each other.” He then uses another example, this time using triangles. He actually uses specific numbers. “If one side of a triangle is two and a half times as long as the base and the other three times,” then these similar triangles will be proportional. Alberti’s choice to include numbers gives the reader something more concrete to think about, instead of the less accessible abstract. Thus, although he is using mathematical language, he is using it to illustrate a more concrete example, making it more accessible. He then generalizes his example to all triangles, which makes the text more accessible as the first part is concrete and easier to digest, giving the reader confidence, and the latter section generalizes the reader’s understanding to more abstract cases.

Alberti then goes on to make the concept even more accessible. The prior example requires a certain level of spatial thinking, and so, he includes a “comparison” to similarity between human beings. “A very small man is proportional to a very large one." Alberti’s use of the human body to illustrate proportion in triangles is unconventional but effective because it is the most concrete example possible. A reader can simply look at themselves to visualize the human body and therein understand proportion. Alberti has removed all abstraction and the need for spatial thinking from the equation, so to speak, and makes the definition of proportionality more accessible. In this, he moves further and further away from the pure mathematical idea that is proportion, but still makes his point and explains successfully the idea of proportional.

After this, Alberti brings the reader back to triangles by likening them to the human body and ties his example back to the meaning of proportion, and then slowly steps back toward his main point to make sure the reader understands all steps of his process. This gradual and layered argument is more accessible because Alberti discusses a point, uses a second point to try and explain it, explains his second point using comparison, restates the second point to bring readers back and then uses it to argue the first point. This repetition allows greater emphasis and greater understanding. However, Alberti has not actually proved or explained his proposition: that a straight intersecting line – parallel to the base of the larger triangle – will create the proportional triangles he speaks of. He simply says that because proportionality is clear, painters “may accept the mathematician’s proposition.”

Alberti also uses a drawing, which may help some to visualize his proportion. This is particularly effective for visual learners, and the reader may refer to the diagram while Alberti explains making the text more accessible to understand. However, Alberti himself does not refer to the diagram to explain, perhaps because it would make his argument sound too geometrical and mathematical, like Euclid’s "Elements of Geometry," which refers extensively to diagrams, to prove this exact same proposition. Even though a reference to this drawing is at the end, it is yet another method to enable the reader to understand his argument, and thus makes this passage more accessible.

So, Alberti’s rhetorical shifts, diction, structural choices use of comparison and a diagram and treatment of mathematics, though convoluted at points, make his text more accessible for the painter to understand. All of these choices suit their function, and are important for the painter to understand in his or her learning how to paint.

He shows us that sometimes in order to explain a very nuanced, complicated and practical thing, we need to make compromises and understand what is actually relevant. Sometimes a utilitarian approach really is the best way to explain something, especially when the nuances and complications aren’t really applicable!

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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