Part 6
_The portraits of Lodovic Sforza, Duke of Milan, and Maximilian his eldest son, and on the other side Beatrix his dutchess, and Francesco his other son_, all in one picture, in the same Refectory with the Last Supper[i166].
_The portraits of two of the handsomest women at Florence_, painted by him as a present to Lewis XII[i167].
_The painting in the council-chamber at Florence_[i168]. The subject of this is the battle of Attila[i169].
_A portrait of Ginevra_, daughter of Americo Benci[i170].
_The portrait of Mona Lisa_, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, painted for her husband[i171]. Lomazzo has said, she was a Neapolitan, but this is supposed a mistake, and that she was a Florentine[i172]. In a note of Mariette's, Lett. Pitt. vol. ii. p. 175, this picture is said to have been in the collection of Francis I. King of France, who gave for it 4000 crowns.
_A small picture of a child_, which was at Pescia, in the possession of Baldassar Turini. It is not known where this now is[i173].
_A painting of two horsemen struggling for a flag_, in the Palais Royal at Paris[i174].
_A nobleman of Mantua_[i175].
_A picture of Flora_, which Du Fresne mentions as being in his time at Paris. This is said to have been once in the cabinet of Mary de Medicis[i176], and though for some time supposed to have been painted by Leonardo da Vinci, was discovered by Mariette to have been the work of Francisco Melzi, whose name is upon it[i177]. In the supplement to the life of Leonardo, inserted in Della Valle's edition of Vasari, this picture is said to have been painted for the Duke de S. Simone.
_A head of John the Baptist_, in the hands of Camillo Albizzo[i178].
_The Conception of the blessed Virgin_, for the church of St. Francis at Milan[i179]. This was esteemed a copy, and not worth more than 30 chequins, till an Englishman came there, who thought a large sum of money well employed in the purchase of it[i180].
_St. John in the Wilderness_, said to be at Paris[i181]. In Lett. Pitt. vol. ii. p. 197, mention is made of a print of St. John the Baptist, half length, by Sig. Jabac, who had the original picture, which was formerly in the King of France's cabinet.
_Joseph and Potiphar's wife_, which Mons. de Charmois, secretary to the Duke of Schomberg, had[i182].
_A portrait of Raphael_, in oil, in the Medici gallery. This is mentioned in Vasari, p. 47; and though not expressly there said to be by Leonardo, is so placed as to make it doubtful whether it was or not.
_A Nun, half length_, by Leonardo, in the possession of Abbate Nicolini[i183].
_Two fine heads_, painted in oil by Leonardo, bought at Florence by Sig. Bali di Breteuil, ambassador from Malta to Rome. One of these, representing a woman, was in his first manner. The other, a Virgin, in his last[i184].
_A Leda_, which Lomazzo says was at Fontainebleau, and did not yield in colouring to the portrait of Joconda in the Duke's gallery. Richardson says it was in the palace Mattei[i185].
_The head of a dead man_, with all its minute parts, painted by Leonardo, formerly in the Mattei palace, but no longer there[i186].
A picture containing a study of _two most delicate female heads_, in the Barberini palace at Rome[i187].
_A portrait of a girl with a book in her hand_, in the Strozzi palace in Rome[i188].
_The Dispute of Jesus with the Doctors_, half length, in the Panfili palace[i189].
Five pictures in the Ambrosian library at Milan, the subjects not mentioned[i190].
Some in the gallery of the archbishopric at Milan, the number and subjects equally unnoticed[i191].
One picture in the sacristy of Santa Maria, near St. Celsus at Milan[i192].
_A small head of Christ_, while a youth, mentioned by Lomazzo. Probably this may be the study for the picture of Jesus disputing with the Doctors, at the Panfili palace[i193].
_St. Michael with a man kneeling_, in the King of France's collection[i194].
_A Bacchus_, in the same collection[i195].
_The fair Ferraia_, in the same collection[i196].
_A portrait of a lady_, there also[i197].
_A Christ with a globe in his hand_[i198]. A very fine picture, half length, now in the possession of Richard Troward, Esq. of Pall Mall. This was engraven by Hollar in 1650, in aqua fortis[i199].
_The Fall of Phaeton_, in the gallery of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, of which Scannelli speaks, but it is mentioned by no one else[i200].
_St. Catherine with a palm-branch_, in the gallery of the Duke of Modena[i201].
_The head of a young man armed_, in the same collection, very graceful, but inferior to the St. Catherine[i202].
_A portrait of the Queen of Naples_, which was in the Aldobrandini gallery, but afterwards to be found in a chamber of portraits in the Panfili palace. It is not equal in colouring to the Dispute of Jesus with the Doctors[i203].
_A portrait in profile of the Dutchess of Milan_, mentioned by Richardson as being in a chamber leading to the Ambrosian library[i204].
_A beautiful figure of the Virgin, half length_, in the palace of Vaprio. It is of a gigantic size, for the head of the Virgin is six common palms in size, and that of the Divine Infant four in circumference. Della Valle speaks of having seen this in the year 1791, and says he is not ignorant that tradition ascribes this Madonna to Bramante, notwithstanding which he gives it to Leonardo[i205].
_A laughing Pomona with three veils_, commended by Lomazzo. It was done for Francis I. King of France[i206].
_The portrait of Cecilia Gallarani_, mentioned by Bellincione in one of his sonnets, as painted by Leonardo[i207].
_Another of Lucrezia Cavelli_, a celebrated performer on the lute, ascribed to him on the same authority. Copies of both this and the former may be seen at Milan[i208].
_Our Saviour before Pilate_, in the church of S. Florentino, at Amboise. It is thought that the carton only of this was Leonardo's, and that the picture was painted by Andrea Salai, or Melzi[i209].
_A portrait of Leonardo_ by himself, half length, in the Ambrosian library at Milan[i210]. Della Valle has inserted a copy of this before the Supplement to Leonardo's Life, in his edition of Vasari, for which purpose Sig. Pagave transmitted him a drawing from the original picture. But Leonardo's own drawing for the picture itself, is in the possession of his Britannic Majesty, and from that Mr. Chamberlaine has prefixed to his publication before mentioned, a plate engraven by Bartolozzi.
A
TREATISE,
_&c._
DRAWING.
PROPORTION.
/Chap. I./--_What the young Student in Painting ought in the first Place to learn._
/The/ young student should, in the first place, acquire a knowledge of perspective, to enable him to give to every object its proper dimensions: after which, it is requisite that he be under the care of an able master, to accustom him, by degrees, to a good style of drawing the parts. Next, he must study Nature, in order to confirm and fix in his mind the reason of those precepts which he has learnt. He must also bestow some time in viewing the works of various old masters, to form his eye and judgment, in order that he may be able to put in practice all that he has been taught[1].
/Chap. II./--_Rule for a young Student in Painting._
/The/ organ of sight is one of the quickest, and takes in at a single glance an infinite variety of forms; notwithstanding which, it cannot perfectly comprehend more than one object at a time. For example, the reader, at one look over this page, immediately perceives it full of different characters; but he cannot at the same moment distinguish each letter, much less can he comprehend their meaning. He must consider it word by word, and line by line, if he be desirous of forming a just notion of these characters. In like manner, if we wish to ascend to the top of an edifice, we must be content to advance step by step, otherwise we shall never be able to attain it.
A young man, who has a natural inclination to the study of this art, I would advise to act thus: In order to acquire a true notion of the form of things, he must begin by studying the parts which compose them, and not pass to a second till he has well stored his memory, and sufficiently practised the first; otherwise he loses his time, and will most certainly protract his studies. And let him remember to acquire accuracy before he attempts quickness.
/Chap. III./--_How to discover a young Man's Disposition for Painting._
/Many/ are very desirous of learning to draw, and are very fond of it, who are, notwithstanding, void of a proper disposition for it. This may be known by their want of perseverance; like boys, who draw every thing in a hurry, never finishing, or shadowing.
/Chap. IV./--_Of Painting, and its Divisions._
/Painting/ is divided into two principal parts. The first is the figure, that is, the lines which distinguish the forms of bodies, and their component parts. The second is the colour contained within those limits.
/Chap. V./--_Division of the Figure._
/The/ form of bodies is divided into two parts; that is, the proportion of the members to each other, which must correspond with the whole; and the motion, expressive of what passes in the mind of the living figure.
/Chap. VI./--_Proportion of Members._
/The/ proportion of members is again divided into two parts, viz. equality, and motion. By equality is meant (besides the measure corresponding with the whole), that you do not confound the members of a young subject with those of old age, nor plump ones with those that are lean; and that, moreover, you do not blend the robust and firm muscles of man with feminine softness: that the attitudes and motions of old age be not expressed with the quickness and alacrity of youth; nor those of a female figure like those of a vigorous young man. The motions and members of a strong man should be such as to express his perfect state of health.
/Chap. VII./--_Of Dimensions in general._
/In/ general, the dimensions of the human body are to be considered in the length, and not in the breadth; because in the wonderful works of Nature, which we endeavour to imitate, we cannot in any species find any one part in one model precisely similar to the same part in another. Let us be attentive, therefore, to the variation of forms, and avoid all monstrosities of proportion; such as long legs united to short bodies, and narrow chests with long arms. Observe also attentively the measure of joints, in which Nature is apt to vary considerably; and imitate her example by doing the same.
/Chap. VIII./--_Motion, Changes, and Proportion of Members._
/The/ measures of the human body vary in each member, according as it is more or less bent, or seen in different views, increasing on one side as much as they diminish on the other.
/Chap. IX./--_The Difference of Proportion between Children and grown Men._
/In/ men and children I find a great difference between the joints of the one and the other in the length of the bones. A man has the length of two heads from the extremity of one shoulder to the other, the same from the shoulder to the elbow, and from the elbow to the fingers; but the child has only one, because Nature gives the proper size first to the seat of the intellect, and afterwards to the other parts.
/Chap. X./--_The Alterations in the Proportion of the human Body from Infancy to full Age._
/A man/, in his infancy, has the breadth of his shoulders equal to the length of the face, and to the length of the arm from the shoulder to the elbow, when the arm is bent[2]. It is the same again from the lower belly to the knee, and from the knee to the foot. But, when a man is arrived at the period of his full growth, every one of these dimensions becomes double in length, except the face, which, with the top of the head, undergoes but very little alteration in length. A well-proportioned and full-grown man, therefore, is ten times the length of his face; the breadth of his shoulders will be two faces, and in like manner all the above lengths will be double. The rest will be explained in the general measurement of the human body[3].
/Chap. XI./--_Of the Proportion of Members._
/All/ the parts of any animal whatever must be correspondent with the whole. So that, if the body be short and thick, all the members belonging to it must be the same. One that is long and thin must have its parts of the same kind; and so of the middle size. Something of the same may be observed in plants, when uninjured by men or tempests; for when thus injured they bud and grow again, making young shoots from old plants, and by those means destroying their natural symmetry.
/Chap. XII./--_That every Part be proportioned to its Whole._
/If/ a man be short and thick, be careful that all his members be of the same nature, viz. short arms and thick, large hands, short fingers, with broad joints; and so of the rest.
/Chap. XIII./--_Of the Proportion of the Members._
/Measure/ upon yourself the proportion of the parts, and, if you find any of them defective, note it down, and be very careful to avoid it in drawing your own compositions. For this is reckoned a common fault in painters, to delight in the imitation of themselves.
/Chap. XIV./--_The Danger of forming an erroneous Judgment in regard to the Proportion and Beauty of the Parts._
/If/ the painter has clumsy hands, he will be apt to introduce them into his works, and so of any other part of his person, which may not happen to be so beautiful as it ought to be. He must, therefore, guard particularly against that self-love, or too good opinion of his own person, and study by every means to acquire the knowledge of what is most beautiful, and of his own defects, that he may adopt the one and avoid the other.
/Chap. XV./--_Another Precept._
/The/ young painter must, in the first instance, accustom his hand to copying the drawings of good masters; and when his hand is thus formed, and ready, he should, with the advice of his director, use himself also to draw from relievos; according to the rules we shall point out in the treatise on drawing from relievos[4].
/Chap. XVI./--_The Manner of drawing from Relievos, and rendering Paper fit for it._
/When/ you draw from relievos, tinge your paper of some darkish demi-tint. And after you have made your outline, put in the darkest shadows, and, last of all, the principal lights, but sparingly, especially the smaller ones; because those are easily lost to the eye at a very moderate distance[5].
/Chap. XVII./--_Of drawing from Casts or Nature._
/In/ drawing from relievo, the draftsman must place himself in such a manner, as that the eye of the figure to be drawn be level with his own[6].
/Chap. XVIII./--_To draw Figures from Nature._
/Accustom/ yourself to hold a plummet in your hand, that you may judge of the bearing of the parts.
/Chap. XIX./--_Of drawing from Nature._
/When/ you draw from Nature, you must be at the distance of three times the height of the object; and when you begin to draw, form in your own mind a certain principal line (suppose a perpendicular); observe well the bearing of the parts towards that line; whether they intersect, are parallel to it, or oblique.
/Chap. XX./--_Of drawing Academy Figures._
/When/ you draw from a naked model, always sketch in the whole of the figure, suiting all the members well to each other; and though you finish only that part which appears the best, have a regard to the rest, that, whenever you make use of such studies, all the parts may hang together.
In composing your attitudes, take care not to turn the head on the same side as the breast, nor let the arm go in a line with the leg[7]. If the head turn towards the right shoulder, the parts must be lower on the left side than on the other; but if the chest come forward, and the head turn towards the left, the parts on the right side are to be the highest.
/Chap. XXI./--_Of studying in the Dark, on first waking in the Morning, and before going to sleep._
/I have/ experienced no small benefit, when in the dark and in bed, by retracing in my mind the outlines of those forms which I had previously studied, particularly such as had appeared the most difficult to comprehend and retain; by this method they will be confirmed and treasured up in the memory.
/Chap. XXII./--_Observations on drawing Portraits._
/The/ cartilage, which raises the nose in the middle of the face, varies in eight different ways. It is equally straight, equally concave, or equally convex, which is the first sort. Or, secondly, unequally straight, concave, or convex. Or, thirdly, straight in the upper part, and concave in the under. Or, fourthly, straight again in the upper part, and convex in those below. Or, fifthly, it may be concave and straight beneath. Or, sixthly, concave above, and convex below. Or, seventhly, it may be convex in the upper part, and straight in the lower. And in the eighth and last place, convex above, and concave beneath.
The uniting of the nose with the brows is in two ways, either it is straight or concave. The forehead has three different forms. It is straight, concave, or round. The first is divided into two parts, viz. it is either convex in the upper part, or in the lower, sometimes both; or else flat above and below.
/Chap. XXIII./--_The Method of retaining in the Memory the Likeness of a Man, so as to draw his Profile, after having seen him only once._
/You/ must observe and remember well the variations of the four principal features in the profile; the nose, mouth, chin, and forehead. And first of the nose, of which there are three different sorts[8], straight, concave, and convex. Of the straight there are but four variations, short or long, high at the end, or low. Of the concave there are three sorts; some have the concavity above, some in the middle, and some at the end. The convex noses also vary three ways; some project in the upper part, some in the middle, and others at the bottom. Nature, which seems to delight in infinite variety, gives again three changes to those noses which have a projection in the middle; for some have it straight, some concave, and some convex.
/Chap. XXIV./--_How to remember the Form of a Face._
/If/ you wish to retain with facility the general look of a face, you must first learn how to draw well several faces, mouths, eyes, noses, chins, throats, necks, and shoulders; in short, all those principal parts which distinguish one man from another. For instance, noses are often different sorts[9]. Straight, bunched, concave, some raised above, some below the middle, aquiline, flat, round, and sharp. These affect the profile. In the front view there are eleven different sorts. Even, thick in the middle, thin in the middle, thick at the tip, thin at the beginning, thin at the tip, and thick at the beginning. Broad, narrow, high, and low nostrils; some with a large opening, and some more shut towards the tip.
The same variety will be found in the other parts of the face, which must be drawn from Nature, and retained in the memory. Or else, when you mean to draw a likeness from memory, take with you a pocket-book, in which you have marked all these variations of features, and after having given a look at the face you mean to draw, retire a little aside, and note down in your book which of the features are similar to it; that you may put it all together at home.
/Chap. XXV./--_That a Painter should take Pleasure in the Opinion of every body._
/A painter/ ought not certainly to refuse listening to the opinion of any one; for we know that, although a man be not a painter, he may have just notions of the forms of men; whether a man has a hump on his back, a thick leg, or a large hand; whether he be lame, or have any other defect. Now, if we know that men are able to judge of the works of Nature, should we not think them more able to detect our errors?
ANATOMY.
/Chap. XXVI./--_What is principally to be observed in Figures._
/The/ principal and most important consideration required in drawing figures, is to set the head well upon the shoulders, the chest upon the hips, the hips and shoulders upon the feet.
/Chap. XXVII./--_Mode of Studying._
/Study/ the science first, and then follow the practice which results from that science. Pursue method in your study, and do not quit one part till it be perfectly engraven in the memory; and observe what difference there is between the members of animals and their joints[10].
/Chap. XXVIII./--_Of being universal._
/It/ is an easy matter for a man who is well versed in the principles of his art, to become universal in the practice of it, since all animals have a similarity of members, that is, muscles, tendons, bones, &c. These only vary in length or thickness, as will be demonstrated in the Anatomy[11]. As for aquatic animals, of which there is great variety, I shall not persuade the painter to take them as a rule, having no connexion with our purpose.
/Chap. XXIX./--_A Precept for the Painter._
/It/ reflects no great honour on a painter to be able to execute only one thing well, such as a head, an academy figure, or draperies, animals, landscape, or the like, confining himself to some particular object of study; because there is scarcely a person so void of genius as to fail of success, if he apply earnestly to one branch of study, and practise it continually.
/Chap. XXX./--_Of the Measures of the human Body, and the bending of Members._
/It/ is very necessary that painters should have a knowledge of the bones which support the flesh by which they are covered, but particularly of the joints, which increase and diminish the length of them in their appearance. As in the arm, which does not measure the same when bent, as when extended; its difference between the greatest extension and bending, is about one eighth of its length. The increase and diminution of the arm is effected by the bone projecting out of its socket at the elbow; which, as is seen in figure A B, Plate I. is lengthened from the shoulder to the elbow; the angle it forms being less than a right angle. It will appear longer as that angle becomes more acute, and will shorten in proportion as it becomes more open or obtuse.
/Chap. XXXI./--_Of the small Bones in several Joints of the human Body._
/There/ are in the joints of the human body certain small bones, fixed in the middle of the tendons which connect several of the joints. Such are the patellas of the knees, and the joints of the shoulders, and those of the feet. They are eight in number, one at each shoulder, one at each knee, and two at each foot under the first joint of the great toe towards the heel. These grow extremely hard as a man advances in years.
/Chap. XXXII./--_Memorandum to be observed by the Painter._
/Note/ down which muscles and tendons are brought into action by the motion of any member, and when they are hidden. Remember that these remarks are of the greatest importance to painters and sculptors, who profess to study anatomy, and the science of the muscles. Do the same with children, following the different gradations of age from their birth even to decrepitude, describing the changes which the members, and particularly the joints, undergo; which of them grow fat, and which lean.
/Chap. XXXIII./--_The Shoulders._
/The/ joints of the shoulders, and other parts which bend, shall be noticed in their places in the Treatise on Anatomy, where the cause of the motions of all the parts which compose the human body shall be explained[12].
/Chap. XXXIV./--_The Difference of Joints between Children and grown Men._