Figure Balance, the Ten Offices of the Eye, and Carving a Statue
Precepts on bodily equilibrium, the eye's ten functions, and beginning a marble figure from clay
Three precepts of the Treatise on Painting fill this page. The first holds that the navel always lies on the central line of the body's weight, so that an extended arm with clenched fist acts like the counterweight of a steelyard and forces the opposite heel to rise, illustrated by a small pen sketch of a standing man at the centre of the text. The second enumerates the ten offices of the eye - darkness, light, body, colour, figure, site, remoteness, proximity, motion and rest - all belonging to painting. The third, headed 'De statua', begins Leonardo's method for carving a marble figure from a dried clay model set inside a fitted box.
On this page
The navel on the central line of the body's weight
A precept on human equilibrium: the navel always stands on the vertical line of the weight above the balance-point, accounting for both natural and accidental weight. Extending the arm sets the fist at the far end like the counterweight of a steelyard, so as much weight is thrown beyond the navel as the fist adds, and the heel on that side must rise.
The ten offices of the eye, all belonging to painting
Painting extends to all ten offices of the eye: darkness, light, body, colour, figure, site, remoteness, proximity, motion and rest. Leonardo promises that his little work will be woven from these, teaching the painter with what rule and manner he must imitate them.
De statua: beginning a marble figure from a clay model
To make a marble figure, first make and dry a clay one, then set it in a box large enough also to receive the marble block from which the identical figure is to be uncovered. The dried clay model, replaced within the box, guides the carving.