Painting contains a divine force which not only makes absent men present, as friendship is said to do, but moreover makes the dead seem almost alive.
Leon Battista AlbertiThe function of the painter is to render... the visible surface so that at a certain distance... and position it appears... like the body itself.
Leon Battista AlbertiI will never tire of recommending the custom, practiced by the best architects, of preparing not only drawings and sketches, but also models of wood or any other material. These... enable us to examine... the work as a whole... and, before continuing any further, to estimate the likely trouble and expense.
Leon Battista Alberti