In his treatise On Painting (1435), the humanist Leon Battista Alberti first laid out the rules of linear perspective for painters. Linear perspective is based on the principle that a viewer’s knowledge of the world always depends on where he or she is standing at any given time. Knowledge depends, in other words, on one’s perspectival position in the world. Write a paragraph of 125-150 words that considers how this “perspectival thinking” can be found in our other two readings for this week: one by the theologian Nicholas of Cusa and the other by the astronomer Nicholas Copernicus.
Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) was a Florentine humanist who is best known for his short book on statecraft, The Prince (1513), in which he sets out the qualities that an effective ruler ought to possess. After reading the assigned sections of this book, consider the following quote from p. 70: “A leader doesn’t have to possess all the virtuous qualities I’ve mentioned, but it’s absolutely imperative that he seem to possess them.” How might you relate this assertion to any of the artists we’ve considered this week and the role they played at princely courts?
For this you can talk about Leon Baptista Alberti being a great humanist who was also a leader, he wrote books like the book of painting in 1435 dedicated to brunoleschi. Build more on this.
About 130 words for each reading summary
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