Perception can be defined as the way we see or understand someone or something, and may change from person to person. Alberti believes that we need to understand the appearances, what's behind them and what makes them possible. To understand these facts, we have to see the pattern or the order behind what we are looking at.
The main idea in On Painting is that Alberti discusses there is a strong relation between the mathematics, geometry, optics and the beauty of a masterpiece which are mostly paintings. In his point of view, if a masterpiece seems beautiful or visual to the eyes of people, it has a mathematical harmony behind it. We can compare this view with the Golden Ratio assumption found by Leonardo Fibonacci. People started to believe that the Golden Ratio can be used in arts to create a more visual harmony behind it so that it may seem both more realistic and more glamorous.
You can see some examples, in which some of the most well-known artists have used Golden Ratio, such as Michelangelo, Salvador Dali and Leonardo da Vinci.
Finally, I would like you check out the article published by BBC, Mathematics: Why Brain Sees Maths as Beauty. I'm sure it will give you much more information and a deeper understanding of the relationship between mathematics and the perception of beauty in masterpieces.
I am totally agree that the things we find beautiful have some mathematical or geometrical proportions behind them like Alberti said. However that's interesting that although Plato thinks painting is an illusion and just a recreation of the world, which he thinks also an reflection of ideal world, he thinks geometry is essential. Even the famous quote "Let no one ignorant of geometry enter" was written at the enterance of his Academy. Therefore, I think we can say that not only painters and architects use geometry or mathematic to find the secret of nature.
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