This text discusses the proper visualization and drawing techniques of faces ("tronie") in art, focusing on how to accurately depict the position and perspective of facial features, especially the eyes, in relation to circular and oval guides. The guidelines suggest specific angles and alignment methods for achieving realistic proportions, emphasizing the importance of these techniques in artistic representation. Variations in facial orientation, such as tilted or turned faces, are also addressed, with examples illustrating different adjustments needed in such cases.
Artistic Tronie Representation.
Distinctions of Horizontal Faces.
Variations in the Face Cross.
In cases where both sides are moved equally, the parts often and almost always suffer changes in both width and length, sometimes more in width than in length.
Regarding the position or view of the face, one must note that the observer's eye, in all kinds of natural positions, should always be marked in the middle line of the circle, of the surface of the oval; which is why we also refer to the apparent circular line in the oval. However, in the positions we call accidental, one always notices the eye outside the same line; and that neither clearly above nor below the horizon or sight line.
When the eye is in the place of the oval (whether it sees the head from behind or a straight view of the face), its lines of the oval and those of the apparent circle show as two straight lines crossing at right angles, one from the top to the chin, the other from one ear to the other, passing through both eyes, forming the lines, which are known as the cross of the face when moving. Similarly, this fixation of thoughts, can be seen again in these examples; where the ovals marked 1, 2, 3, 4 represent the said teaching foundations. Furthermore, in a tilted or slightly turned face, which was viewed horizontally, the line of the oval changed and became curved, while the apparent circle line remained stretched straight as before, which can be pointed out by the examples numbered 5, 6, and 7.
But when the observer's eye is outside the whole...
Translation Notes:
- "Tronie" refers to a specific type of facial expression or depiction in art, often characterized by exaggerated features.
- The cross of the face ("Kruys der Tronien") refers to the intersection lines on the face used as guides in artistic representation.