Leonardo da Vinci, 1721

DA VINCI, Leonardo (1452-1519). A Treatise of Painting. London: J. Senex and W. Taylor, 1721.

Crisp first edition in English of Leonardo da Vinci's writings on the science of art. First printed in French and Italian in 1651, the text comes from Leonardo's notebooks and was gathered and edited by his heir Francesco Melzi. Melzi died in 1570 before his treatise was published, and it did not reach print until the following century. It collects Leonardo's thoughts on painting, from the chemistry of paint to the mathematics of optics and perspective. This translation into English has been attributed to the publisher, J. Senex. ESTC T174885; Lowndes VII, 2774.

Octavo (191 x 119mm). Title printed in red and black. Engraved frontispiece portrait and 34 engraved plates, 4 of which are folding (repaired wormtrack on C1, a few scattered stains but otherwise fresh). Contemporary calf gilt (rebacked preserving original endleaves). Provenance: George Richard Savage Nassau, 1756-1823 (armorial bookplate).