The Paragone: Why the Eye Grasps Harmony All at Once
Painting shows the whole in an instant; the poet's words fall in fragments of time
A page of the paragone in which Leonardo argues that painting's harmony must be seen whole, since showing a face part by part, forever covering what was shown first, yields no proportion the eye can embrace at one time. The chapter rubric [22] 'Difference between poetry and painting' opens the claim that painting presents itself immediately to the greatest sense, whereas the poet reaches only the lesser sense of hearing. He adds that poets' works, read over long stretches of time, often go ununderstood and require commentaries. The whole leaf is continuous prose in Melzi's fair-copy hand with no drawings.
On this page
Harmony must be embraced whole, not part by part
Depicting each part separately gives no more grace than sounding each musical voice alone at different times, from which no concord is made. It is like showing a face piece by piece, always covering what was first revealed, so that oblivion prevents any proportional harmony from forming. The eye cannot embrace such scattered parts with its visual power all at one time.
[22] Difference between poetry and painting
Painting presents itself at once through the very display by which its maker made it, giving pleasure to the greatest sense. The poet, sending the same things to the common sense by hearing, the lesser sense, offers the eye no more than a thing recounted. Moreover, the poets' works, read over long intervals, are often not understood and need commentaries.