On the Attitude, decorum, and decorous motion of a Human Figure132
The Fourth Chapter
(1) Heaven, apart from being kind and obliging,
Wished also to confer on Noble Nature,
As a complement to her many innate gifts,
The virtue of beauty, decorous and artful,*
Which gives the utmost delight to the eye:
But if we delve into [matters of] source and method,
So do we find extensive reasons why
Nature’s beauty is beauty’s perfection.133
(2) Something well apparent to the eyes,
Discernible in many kinds of Natural things,
Is that their beauty is diminished by flaws*
To the extent that the particulars fall short.
This takes us to the subject at hand:
How is it that we Painters, laboring diligently,**
Sometimes find ourselves unable to fashion a Figure
Pleasing to us, though we know not the reasons why.
(3) Albeit our contours, curving away from each other,
Passably project [out of the image],
Yet does the Attitude sometimes lack any stirring movement,
Or the Figure is prone to falling,
Or has a specially
Indecorous character: in order further to avoid
Such offenses,
Instruction will serve us well here.134
(4) Accordingly, let us now set out in an orderly manner,
Under the [rubric of] proper circumstances,135
Certain rules and firm laws,*
Which Nature, through close observation of her distinctive parts,
Has promulgated with good cause
To prevent us from unknowingly entering upon
A method of posing figures that oversteps
The bounds of tried and true procedures, rules, and precepts.136
(5) To implant a standing Figure, we may*
Draw a straight line, [pulled taut] as if by a lead weight,
From above downward,
Which shall, like an arch frame cord,
Prevent the component parts of a Corpus from swerving outward,137
As it closely descends from the throat pit
To a point between the ankles of the load-bearing feet:
Thus with confidence may we build a standing Figure.
(6) For, see, the Human Figure and a Column*
Are alike in stance and bearing,
And the head, supported by the Body,
As its heaviest member, must needs
Have the foot placed underneath as its Base,
Onto which the weight is distributed
And the head carried so truly that
A plumb line could be dropped between both [the head and the feet].138
(7) That this aforementioned perpendicular plumb line
Or hanging strand be explicitly drawn,
I consider unnecessary,
If the drawing is not to be done timidly;
Rather, let it be seen with the mind’s eye,139
And steadily consider well that the lead-weighted thread140
Come directly from the throat pit
To between the feet that support the Body.
(8) For the head may well fall or tilt toward one shoulder or the other,
But it will at times be expedient
For the head and the Body perforce to incline oppositely, or,*
To speak with more perspicuity,
One is advised intently to avoid
Letting the head hang on the same side
That the Body hangs or bends,
If our work is not to appear inept.141
(9) The unencumbered foot together with its leg
May play outward, to make for a more agreeable impression,*
But there is a Natural property commonly
To be observed not merely in Persons
But also in four-footed Animals;
Namely, how the right leg in front and the left leg behind
Must rise, step, and fall in tandem,
And likewise the other two.
(10) One sees a Human Figure naturally display*
This sort of swaying motion in running or walking,
Both while working and standing still:142
Closely to observe this
With respect to all persons—Children, Men, and Women –
Will crown our works with success.143
We ought never to extend the arm and leg of a Figure
Forward on the same side.
(11) We should be mindful to alternate them,*
Letting the right arm come forward,
And the right leg sink backward,
The left leg project, and, conversely, the left
Arm back away by degrees,
Always crosswise; whether the Figures sit
Or stand, their faces should turn
Toward the arm that extends outward.
(12) Both Raphael of Urbino and Michelangelo
Have exhibited this very Attitude
In their artful works, and it is likewise
To be descried in various Ancient
Figures, artfully carved,
And in the beautiful city of Florence
Such a device is also to be noted
In the well-sculpted works of Giambologna.144
(13) In Figures standing naturally, one observes
How the head usually turns*
In the direction of the foot, and one also sees
How the Body tends to move itself
As does the head, giving it support:
But in posing [Figures] according to the rules of Attitude,
It is considered especially praiseworthy
To move the Head away from where the Torso turns.
(14) Otherwise our work, by its insipidity and deficiency, will perturb:
Thus one must endeavor in every possible way
To turn the head so as to produce the best effect145
For this can completely spoil or adorn
A Figure’s quality in knowledgeable eyes:
But no such turning is to be tolerated*
In sacred Figures, which one must do one’s best
To make devout and modest.
(15) In the same way, what we have just said about Attitude*
Shall not always bind us:
Instead, as need arises,
We shall occasionally diverge from it:
For Orpheus did indeed adapt his sweet-sounding Harp
From time to time, and played upon rough strings
How the Titans came to ruin,
Vanquished by fearsome thunder.146
(16) Then again, his playing tasted sweeter
At another time, when he sang
About young Maidens who met their demise,
Impelled by foolish love:
See how we leapt into this fable
To show that one is sometimes compelled
(As the nature or action of things in our works requires)
To make use of such adjustments.147
(17) Similarly, when we fashion models or posed figures*
That thrust with staves or pull on ropes,
The feet and hands must extend to the same side
As the outstretched arms and legs,
Or be raised in the direction of the limbs that reach out as they work:
But above all, one must avoid superimposing**
The arms over the naked Corpus, always leaving it
Free of all encumbrance (so far as this proves possible).148
(18) Thus should we proceed further and designate
(So far as we know them) the improprieties in a Figure’s pose:
For example, it shall not be prized to have a model seated
With the feet thrust out to the sides,
But otherwise knock-kneed;*
It shall turn out better
To shift the knees outward, away from each other,
and the heels inward, and thereby achieve a well-tempered attitude.
(19) But to make the feet of a Woman*
Too wide apart in standing or lying,
Especially in standing, is perfidious
To decorum, which demands that
The feet be close together, by reason of modesty:149
And also, there are times one must avoid foreshortening a face too much,**
Which is inimical to good disposition,
For excess brings forth a minimum of grace.
(20) Many admirable Painters (and defective ones, too)
Yet take a notably wrong turn,
In that (let them not hold this against me)
They pull up the shoulder, raising it highest
Above the hip that swings outward,*
Whereas the shoulder should be lowered
Wherever the hip projects: for this is the quintessence
Of the Arts, whether the Figure stands, lies, or sits.
(21) Equally ill-advised is to draw
The arm reaching upward when it attaches to the dropped shoulder*
Of a model pivoting outward:
Even were this custom twice as old as it is,
It would appear less than sound for attaining good disposition.
Thus, in accordance with proper usage, one had better
Apply the raised shoulder thereto,
In order to avoid a maladroit stance.
(22) Furthermore, to reinforce good disposition
There’s another matter worthy to be addressed
By clever spirits who hearken to everything,
Namely: see to it that Figures not occupied with some task
Do not raise both [their]*
Hands or arms in unison.
Appreciate this fully: variation can gratify.
Likewise avoid [raising both] the legs or the feet.
(23) It also appears that some, incapable of calming
Their spirit while at work on something,
Let (if by your leave I may say this) breasts and buttocks*
Be simultaneously visible; [artists] such as these seemingly
Aspire to take the stage with Playactors
Who tumble and somersault, construing
Unnatural things of this sort as an art;
But Painters must guard against them.150
(24) Yes, indeed, even simple folk berate those
Who thus deceive themselves, presuming thereby to embellish their works,
Or who cook things up, preposterous to such a degree,
Contorted, twisted, with limbs [as if] broken,*
Or, as the Italians say, stropiato.151
Many species of this may be enumerated:
For instance, the hand strained and wrested from the arm,
And the foot wrenched away from the knee.
(25) Thus must one keep to the middle path
In turning and bending, following life:*
When a face looks up in alarm,
Let not the head hang backward
More than necessary for the eyes
To remain raised heavenward; and besides,
In stooping, it shall not be proper
To lower the shoulders beneath the navel.152
(26) Nor shall one turn the head farther than
Where the chin and the armpit align;
But arms and legs have greater liberty,
Although take care
That no one’s hand be raised so high
That the elbow comes above the armpit.153
These and other such Rules
Nature confirms with a sure seal.
(27) When a Person lifts something heavy,*
So everyday experience teaches us,
One leg bears the weight like a prop,
Lending support to the edifice of the body:
For the Person arranges himself so that
His limbs remain balanced,
Whether bowing or bending,
As several Learned Men attest.154
(28) On the side of a load-bearing shoulder,
The leg has no leave to move as it pleases,
But must stand straight, carrying its burden:
One must also ensure that a standing Figure*
Not stride in excess of Nature and grace,
As, for instance, when feet are more than a foot apart:155
But keep in mind that the Ancients appreciated stationary standing Figures
As much as walking or running ones.
(29) Attractive and graceful in manner,156
Swiveling slightly, or nearly not at all.
But they exhibit, for all lovers of Art,
An attitude sweet, active, subdued,
Ineluctably pleasing to everyone:
Now, it sometimes happens that
A Figure reaching upward must rest
On the balls of the heels or the toes of the foot.157
(30) In the manner of a frolicsome Nymph-like Female personage,
Dancing, capering with both legs on the ground,*
Others on their toes.158
To effect this well, beautifies our work:
And if we desire an Example hereof,
Canachus, a Statuarius in stone and bronze,
Was in olden days esteemed for his art
(Or so Pliny evinces).159
(31) A Hart had he made in bronze or stone,*
Which awakened wonder,
Standing so lightly on its legs, with such art,
That one could almost have passed a thread
Under all four feet;
From behind it seemed airily to rise
On its toes, keen to jump,
While it appeared, from the front, to rest on its heels.
(32) For figures at work,
Observe Nature keenly, putting every limb into service:*
The hands, fingers to playing Lutes or Harps,
To shooting, or throwing something,
To cutting, dragging, carrying, digging, or burying:
In running figures, let all the limbs hurry along,
And further, for any action
Mobilize its every part with art.160
(33) For an example we may here insert
That artful work of Demon of Athens,*
The two Soldiers, Hoplites, one of whom appeared
To sweat, the other (throwing down
His weapons) to pant and heave from exhaustion.
Herein did people take wondrous pleasure,
For in his time there was no Painter
Who strove more profusely to portray the passions.161
(34) Every motion of the limbs or members
Of Nymphs, Goddesses, and Concubines
Must also appear pleasing and deft,*
After the manner of Ariosto’s description of Alcina,
Who took ne’er a step
‘Twas not a snare and net
Of Love, wherewith to hold Ruggiero captive
By means of graceful and comely demeanor.162
(35) This, too, is one of Pictura’s virtues,
To vary Figures by age:*
First of all, to fashion the forms of simple
Young folk, inclined to joy, who ever mirthful
Conduct themselves without guile in all they do;
And women, unaccustomed to work,
Whose attitudes will not much be prized
If they show a Manly force.163
(36) And still must we cross Pliny’s threshold,
Thereby to implant modesty in our Female [figures],
From here calling forth a most venerable Example,*
Taken from a ruined Ancient Temple,
Wherein could still be seen, more gratifying than any other picture,
A painted Helen beside Atalanta,
And in Atalanta’s blushing, timorous person,
Was manifest the epitome of Maidenhood.164
(37) The Penelope of Zeuxis, a Painter very skilled in Art,
Serves us, too, as a lesson,
For in this Figure he had devotedly gathered
Together every laudable, demure gesture
Befitting a Princess:165
Similarly, Castiglione would not allow his Noble Wife*
To engage in strenuous Manly activities,
Only in Womanly ones, and then only those of a gentle sort.166
(38) Then let us adorn our Maidens and Women*
With a stately presence to reinforce decorum,
Even if Zeuxis (or so we read)
In another setting placed his trust too much in Homer,
Allowing the [traces] of stern, harsh, and weighty tasks
To be seen also in Wifely figures,
All which things [better] befit full-grown young men
Or the Amazons.167
(39) Men of a specially strong constitution*
Will perform powerful acts and take forcible positions:
But a Youthful presence, desirous of banishing melancholy,
Must be alert and loose-limbed,
At liberty and at ease; and Old Men will take this stance:
With their tired legs inclined to bend,
They support their weakened bodies
By holding onto something.168
(40) In short, as one may easily ascertain,
Every Figure shall be found to accord*
With a Person’s strengths and temperament, as also with his actions:
For a martial figure, fiercely unbridled in pose and gesture,
Will make haste differently
From a Philosopher who appears by his gestures
To argue about fundamental principles.
All this must be distinguished to the best of one’s ability.169
(41) He shall be seen to signal his Arguments earnestly,
On one finger, then another:170
Now, there are many other things to Depict,
[Requiring] no less Art: a Singer, for example,
Or the difference between someone laughing or crying,*
Or terrified, melancholy, haughty, irate.
But these and other such subjects,
You shall find [in the chapter on] portraying the Passions.
End of Attitude.
Footnotes
*
Nature is beautiful on account of the various virtues or qualities that she possesses.
*
Beauty diminishes when certain constituent parts go missing.
**
Some young Painters occasionally fashion a Figure that displeases them, without knowing why it falls short: hence the following instructions.
*
Nature teaches and herself promulgates good laws.
*
How one shall implant a Human figure.
*
A Human Figure compared to a Column.
*
That the head should not hang in the same direction as the Body bends or hangs.
*
How a Human Figure shall move.
*
An action commonly shared by Persons and Animals in walking or stepping forward.
*
On using a crosswise action, whereof Masters of the past and the present have given us examples.
*
On turning the head elsewhere than the Torso.
*
Sacred Figures need not turn the head round much.
*
Ever aiming for good disposition, one shall yet sometimes modify it.
*
On working figures whose limbs are to be oriented in accordance with their activity.
**
On leaving the torso’s beauty uncovered, so that its contour or other features are nowhere obstructed.
*
How the knees of a sitting or lying Figure must bend, and how not.
*
How a Female figure’s legs and feet must be placed.
**
Too much foreshortening is not praiseworthy.
*
Where the figure’s hip swivels outward, the shoulder must be lowest.
*
Likewise, the arm that reaches upward must be the one on the other side of the pivoting [Figure].
*
That one shall not allow both arms or legs to perform the same action unless the Figure is fulfilling some task.
*
One shall not be too unbridled, unconstrainedly turning a Figure.
*
That one shall not wring a Figure’s limbs.
*
How far one shall let a Figure reach, stoop, and turn.
*
On a carrying Figure.
*
On the action of going forth, and on a fixed standing posture.
*
On suave movement in dancing, springing, and other such activities.
*
Example of a bronze Hart.
*
Putting the limbs of a Figure to work, in playing, shooting, throwing, or other such activities, according to Art.
*
Example of the action of running, or of an exhausted figure.
*
On observing grace.
*
On giving each Figure its form according to nature and age.
*
Examples of Figures vouchsafed a virtuous, modest appearance.
*
Il Cortegiano, lib. 3, fol. 121.
*
Women’s bearing and actions [should be] sweet and modest.
*
Stances and actions that accord with a Figure’s vigor.
*
Differentiation of actions according to the temperaments and natures of People.
*
This directive pertains to the Affects, about which one may read further [in chapter 6].