On Dressing Figures: Decorum and the Fashions of His Youth
From the Treatise on Painting; drapery folds, decorum, and the slashed fashions of Leonardo's youth
The page closes a chapter on drapery folds, using paired letters (n o and p q) to show when folds read straight or contrary to the eye, then opens a new chapter, De' modi del vestire le sue figure, on how to clothe figures. Leonardo counsels dressing figures to suit age and decorum, robing the old man in a toga and reserving old-fashioned costume for tomb-effigy figures. The lower half turns autobiographical, recalling the extravagant slashed garments (frappe), hoods, and pointed shoes he saw in his boyhood.
On this page
Discretion in the folds that surround arms and legs
The passage closes the previous discussion of folds: where the line of sight faces the fold squarely, n o shows the folds straight, while p q sends them the contrary way. Leonardo urges the painter to use this discretion in the folds that surround the arms, legs, or anything else.
Clothing figures according to age and decorum
Garments should suit the figure's age and dignity: the old man robed in a toga, the young man in dress that little covers the neck above the shoulders, save those in religious orders. The costume of one's own day should be avoided except for figures meant to resemble the tomb effigies buried in churches.
Recollection of the slashed fashions of his boyhood
Leonardo recalls that in his boyhood men great and small had all the edges of their garments slashed on every side, and even slashed the slashes; hoods, shoes, and crests were slashed in many colours from the principal seams. He goes on to list pointed shoes, caps, purses, and weapons, down to the very mouths of those who wished to appear handsome.