Actual Activities

Consideration belongs to a judicious observer. So, too, does internal fear spread great discomfort, but it mainly manifests in the face, which in such cases usually turns pale and distressing. This is because the blood flows more quickly to the heart, or possibly the stance is altered, or movements become slower, which makes it seem that a chill comes over all the limbs, suggesting death. Such dramatic passions have often been lightly portrayed by painters due to the prevalence of such stories, which are common and many, or at least can be applied here. However, we consider that in painting there is no heavier task than depicting the same naturally and as if it were a true cause. The reason seems to us, because such can hardly be seen and perceived momentarily in life, and models who are chosen for this have only fabricated passions; which often still resemble a natural appearance when seen on the canvas. One hears of a Duke Gonzaga of Mantua, who at one time had an Italian painter Francisco Monsignori train a Sebastian in painting, who very naturally, filled with fear and terror of the outstretched blade, stood bound to a tree; which he arranged through a worker serving Monsignori as a model. For when this painter bound the said model with terrifying naked abandon, the Duke unexpectedly burst into the room with a dagger, saying: "So, rogue, now you must feel this; I have brought you here for this purpose. You can imagine, my friend, if that blood did not truly frighten and imagine that the wound immediately..."

Translation Notes

- "Aangesigt" is rendered as "face," and "contemplate" offers an idea of deep observation.
- "Duftanige Passien" refers to intense emotions or dramatic passions in artwork.
- "Naturlijk Rokjen" translated as "natural appearance," maintaining the concept of a natural look depicted through art.
- "Dagge" refers to "dagger," indicating the dramatic nature of the story.
- Explanations of certain phrases were expanded for clarity.