Proportioned Limb Construction

for itself alone. And the fourth is from the nose to the bottom of the chin. This lower part is conveniently divided again into three equal sections. Namely, from the hollow below the nose to the bottom of the upper lip. The second section is from above the lower lip to the hollow above the chin, and finally, the chin itself is the third part. Moreover, if one divides the other three major parts, like the nose, forehead, and upper head, each into three parts, the entire head would be divided into 12 equal parts. This becomes clear in the study of facial features and the observation of the natural and occasional positions and movements of the heads.

Concerning now the width of a face to be appropriately and beautifully divided, it is done very easily into five equal parts: Namely, two for the temples, two for the eyes, and one for the space of the nose between both the eyes. So that each eye is as wide as its opposite number, or when the angles on both sides of the nose meet their length at the eyes. The ears are approximately as long as the nose, but their width is more varied. How these should be positioned will be shown with sketches and demonstrations of speech, clearly enough. But while we still have the measurement of the head near the nose, we should also disregard some proportions with the nose. The ancients have often used the nose as a general measure for all the proportions of the body.

Translation Notes

"Tronie-kunde" refers to the study of facial features; "deze Staaltes van Proporite met de Neus" could be interpreted as minor proportional details with the nose. The "old masters" often used the nose to establish proportional rules across the body in classical art techniques."