The text discusses how natural movement and balance, typically performed effortlessly by people, should be incorporated into painting and sculpture. It emphasizes the importance of observing natural balance and equilibrium in creating art. By understanding natural counterbalance, artists can ensure stability in their work, preventing the depicted figures from appearing unbalanced.
Position of Statues in
What people mainly perform in their movements from natural teachings and effortlessly and without instruction, must be executed in Painting and Sculpture by observing various rules derived from life. It is not difficult to understand that, just as a person working with finer limbs in all their movements and inclinations makes a natural counterbalance through the limbs that work less, so they can perform their task firmly and surely. Moreover, without such a counterbalance, they cannot ensure they do not fall outside their balance line and tumble over. Hence, we conclude that when a statue is placed in such an action or position that it extends widely outside its balance line, one can clearly see it lacks the power to restore itself through arms or legs, or any movement, so such a statue might surely seem to fall over to the observer. And how much more reliably if it is drawn, painted, sculpted, or cast well, as we shall further demonstrate.
Note further that movement is much stronger if the limbs or parts that worked with it move more or less outside the center of their equilibrium; this is what the examples will immediately teach.
Now, people in most actions and tasks naturally produce the said counterbalance, and most can do so without instruction, as we learn from daily experience and ourselves.
Translation Notes
- "Gelijk een Mensch": Here, this phrase is translating to "just as a person," emphasizing observational learning from natural human actions.
- "Evenwigts-Linie": Translated here as "balance line," aligning with the idea of maintaining equilibrium in posture.