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"The face begins at the root of the lowest hairs which are upon the forehead, and ends at the bottom of the chin.

"The face is divided into three proportionable parts; the first contains the forehead, the second the nose, and the third the mouth and the chin ; from the chin to the pit betwixt the collar-bones are two lengths of a nose.

"From the pit betwixt the collar-bones to the bottom of the breast, one face.

"From the bottom of the breasts to the navel, one face.*

"From the navel to the genitories, one face.† "From the genitories to the upper part of the knee, two faces.

"The knee contains half a face.

"From the lower part of the knee to the ankle two faces.

"From the ankle to the sole of the foot, half a face.

"A man, when his arms are stretched out, is from the longest finger of his right hand to the longest of his left, as broad as he is long.

"From one side of the breasts to the other, two faces.

*The Apollo has a nose more.

R.

+ The Apollo has half a nose more; and the upper half of the Venus de Medicis is to the lower part of the belly, and not to the privy-parts.

R.

"The bone of the arm, called humerus, is the length of two faces from the shoulder to the elbow.

"From the end of the elbow to the root of the little finger, the bone called Cubitus, with part of the hand, contains two faces.

"From the box of the shoulder-blade to the pit betwixt the collar-bones, one face.

"If you would be satisfied in the measure of breadth, from the extremity of one finger to the other, so that this breadth should be equal to the length of the body, you must observe, that the boxes of the elbows with the humerus, and of the humerus with the shoulder-blade, bear the proportion of half a face when the arms are stretched out. "The sole of the foot is the sixth part of the figure.

"The hand is the length of a face.

"The thumb contains a nose.

"The inside of the arm, from the place where the muscle disappears, which makes the breast, (called the pectoral muscle,) to the middle of the arm, four noses,

"From the middle of the arm to the beginning of the head, five noses.

"The longest toe is a nose long.

"The two utmost parts of the teats; and the pit betwixt the collar-bones of a woman, make an equilateral triangle.

"For the breadth of the limbs, no precise mea

sures can be given, because the measures them

selves are changeable, according to the quality of and according to the movement of the Du Piles.

the persons, muscles."

The measures of the ancient statues, by Audran, appear to be the most useful, as they are accompanied with the outline of the figures which are most distinguished for correctness.

NOTE XIX. VERSE 151.

But chief from her that flowing outline take,—

Ꭱ.

The French editor,* who republished this poem in the year 1753, (eighty-five years later than the first edition of Du Piles,) remarks here, that Noëil Coypel (called Coypel le Poussin), in a discourse which he published and addressed to the French Academy, says, "That all which our Author has delivered concerning outlines (contours) in this passage, does not appear to him to convey any precise or certain rules. He adds, that it is indeed almost a thing impossible to give them, particularly in what regards grace and elegance of outline. Anatomy and proportion, according to him, may enable a person to design with correctness, but cannot give that noble part of the art,

* He calls himself, in the Paris edition, intitled "L'Ecole d'Uranie," Le Sieur M. D. Q. The Abbé De Marsy's Poem, intitled Pictura, is annexed to Du Fresnoy's in that edition.

which ought to be attributed to the mind or understanding, according to which it is more or less delicate." I think Fresnoy has hinted the very same thing more than once; and, perhaps, like Coypel, lays too great a stress on the mental faculty, which we call strength of genius; but the consideration of this does not come within the province which I have allotted myself in these critical notes.

M.

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NOTE XX. VERSE 163.

Yet deem not, Youths, that Perspective can give
Those charms complete, by which your works shall live.

The translator has softened, if not changed the text, which boldly pronounces that perspective cannot be depended on as a certain rule. Fresnoy was not aware that he was arguing from the abuse of the art of perspective, the business of which is to represent objects as they appear to the eye, or as they are delineated on a transparent plane placed between the spectator and the object. The rules of perspective, as well as all other rules, may be injudiciously applied; and it must be acknowledged, that a misapplication of them is but too frequently found even in the works of the most considerable artists. It is not uncommon to see a figure on the foreground represented near twice the size of another which is supposed to be removed but a few feet behind it; this, though true accord

This error pro

ing to rule, will appear monstrous. ceeds from placing the point of distance too near the point of sight, by which means the diminution of objects is so sudden as to appear unnatural, unless you stand so near the picture as the point of distance requires, which would be too near for the eye to comprehend the whole picture; whereas, if the point of distance is removed so far as the spectator may be supposed to stand in order to see commodiously, and take within his view the whole, the figures behind would then suffer under no such violent diminution. Du Piles, in his note on this passage, endeavours to confirm Fresnoy in his prejudice, by giving an instance which proves, as he imagines, the uncertainty of the art. He supposes it employed to delineate the Trajan pillar, the figures on which, being, as he says, larger at the top than the bottom, would counteract the effects of perspective. The folly of this needs no comment. I shall only observe, by the way, that the fact is not true, the figures on that pillar being all of the same dimensions. R.

NOTE XXI. VERSE 163.

Yet deem not, Youths, that Perspective can give Those charms complete, by which your works shall live.

I plead guilty to the charge in the preceding note. I have translated the passage, as if the text had been ad complementum graphidos, instead

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