Painters as Grandsons of God: the Paragone Continued
On price and eternity; painting on copper, natural philosophy, and Apelles' Calumny
Rebutting the claim that painting is mechanical because done for pay, Leonardo notes that writers too seek the best reward, for every labor expects one, and that a painter can invent a meaningful fiction as Apelles did with the Calumny. Against the claim that poetry is more eternal, he answers that a coppersmith's work lasts longer yet shows little imagination, whereas painting laid on copper with glass colors endures far longer, so painters may be called grandsons of God. He assigns painting to natural philosophy against poetry's moral philosophy, before chapter [20], 'The difference painting has with poetry,' begins. A short marginal note stands at the left of the transcribed text.
On this page
Every labor expects reward
Rebutting the claim that painting is mechanical because done for a price, Leonardo notes that scholars too go where they are best rewarded, for every labor expects a reward. A poet may invent a fiction signifying great things, just as the painter does, as Apelles did with the Calumny.
Painting on copper, and the grandsons of God
Against the claim that poetry is more eternal, he retorts that a coppersmith's works last longer still, yet show little imagination, while painting laid on copper with glass colors can be made far more enduring. By their art, he says, painters may be called grandsons of God.
Painting as natural philosophy
Where poetry extends into moral philosophy and describes the operations of the mind, painting extends into natural philosophy and considers what the mind enacts in movement. Set to figure beauty, fierceness, or a monstrous thing, the painter satisfies more, and paintings have deceived both men and animals.