The Mixwell Library
What the great painters wrote about painting, complete and free: their own words, with their figures beside the text, searchable chapter by chapter. Every book here is in the public domain.
A Treatise on PaintingLeonardo da Vinci (1452–1519)The Treatise on Painting is Leonardo’s advice to the young painter, gathered from his notes: how to study, how to see light and shadow, color and distance, the figure in motion, drapery and landscape. This is the first English translation, by John Francis Rigaud (1802), with its copper plates and figures.The Elements of DrawingJohn Ruskin (1819–1900)In The Elements of Drawing John Ruskin teaches a beginner to see: three letters of exercises in tone, gradation, color and composition, from an even gray square to the shapes of shadows. Complete, with all his figures.