Proportion of Every Limb and Figures That Express the Mind
Trattato della pittura: every part proportioned to the whole, and figures that are 'twice dead' if lifeless
A text page of the Treatise on Painting (running head 'Terza parte') on proportion and expression. One chapter requires every part of a body to match the whole — a thick, short man having short thick arms, broad hands and stubby fingers — extending the rule to all animals and plants. A second, longer chapter declares that figures failing to express the mind through their limbs are 'twice dead,' since painting only feigns life, and urges the painter to study the gestures of speakers and even the eloquent signs of the mute. The sheet is text only, with no drawings.
On this page
Every limb proportioned to the whole body
Make every part of a whole proportioned to that whole: if a man is thick and short, each limb should be the same — short thick arms, broad hands, thick short fingers with their joints in kind, and so the rest. The same rule holds for all animals and plants, whether diminishing or enlarging the proportion of thicknesses.
Figures that do not express the mind are twice dead
If figures do not make ready acts that express the concept of their mind through their limbs, they are twice dead: dead first because painting merely feigns living things without life, and dead again if the vivacity of the act is withheld. The painter is urged to study those who speak, and to learn from the mute, who convey meaning through gesture though they cannot draw.