Practical discourses on the most noble art of painting
By: Jusepe Martínez ; edited by Zahira Véliz ; translated by David McGrath and Zahira Véliz
Contributors: Veliz, Zahira, editor, translator; McGrath, David (David John), translator; Martínez, Jusepe, 1600-1682; Getty Research Institute
Series: Texts & documents series; Texts & documents
Published: 2017
Language: eng
Number of pages: 165
ISBN-13: 9781606065280
Copyright date: 2017
Subjects: Painting; Early works to 1800; Spanish Painting
Work titles: Discursos practicables del nobilísimo arte de la pintura
Description: Jusepe Martínez's Practical Discourses on the Most Noble Art of Painting (ca. 1673-75), though little known today, was highly influential on art, artists, and artistic practice and theory in Spain long after its publication. This volume is the first English translation of the Discourses, which, while circulated in manuscript copies, was not even published until the mid-nineteenth century. Martínez wrote the Discourses toward the end of his life as a well-traveled professional artist who had studied and worked in Italy and the major artistic and literary centers of Spain; his ideas were especially enriched by his participation in the elevated cultural life of his native Aragonese school. His discussions on art offer anecdotal knowledge from his friendships with many of the principal artists of Spain's Golden Age, including Diego Velázquez and Alonso Cano, as well as writers and intellectuals of the period. Martínez's text stands out for a nuanced humanism that is rare in practical treatises. Along with his original ideas on handling, pictorial aesthetics, and the vocation of painting, his work has even more affinities with philosophical discourses than with artists' practical instructional books. Zahira Véliz's introduction and notes provide historical context and situate Martínez's ideas in his rich cultural milieu.
Notes: Translated from the Spanish.

Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Practical discourses on the most noble art of painting; title: To the devoted student of painting; title: Prologue by way of an encomium of painting; title: Treatise 1 on drawing and the ways of achieving accuracy; title: Treatise 2 on symmetry; title: Treatise 3 on anatomy; title: Treatise 4 on perspective; title: Treatise 5 on architecture; title: Treatise 6 on unity; title: Treatise 7 on color; title: Treatise 8 on the choice of poses; title: Treatise 9 on how to complete a history with propriety; title: Treatise 10 on the philosophy of painting; title: Treatise 11 on the relationship between a good painting master and his disciples; title: Treatise 12 on the selection of subject; title: Treatise 13 on the arts necessary for the painter; title: Treatise 14 on the painter's knowledge (ciencia) and prudence; title: Treatise 15 a note of some of the celebrated practitioners who possessed the attributes described above; title: Treatise 16 on the esteem and immortality owing to distinguished practitioners; title: Treatise 17 memorial of eminent Spanish artists; title: Treatise 18 in which the same subject continues, always with instruction for teachers and disciples; title: Treatise 19 historical note on painters from various kingdoms of Spain; title: Treatise 20 on sculptors; title: Treatise 21 conclusion of this digno escrito in defense of Spanish artists.