The text discusses the depiction of the human form in art, focusing on the perspective and dynamics of clothing and limbs. It considers the relevance of both visible and invisible aspects, like the soul, in artistic representation, arguing for a natural and lively portrayal. There's an emphasis on how the art might align with genuine human studies, potentially altering perceptions of both painted and sculpted forms.
The Depiction of Humans, etc.
Larger and more expansive in relation to their point, or bowed like an arc, deviating further from the same point A. And just as these parts D. E. F. G. H. all come above the line of sight, bending upwards, so it is understood that the folds, which are due to the tension of the muscles downward, must necessarily bend downward in their course, coming below the situated guided line, so that whether one of these limbs changes its position or whether one or the other arm is stretched differently, the nature of the folds also changes. There is indeed a perspective to observe in the folding of the clothes and limbs.
Yet, as we have considered that the arrangement of the clothes might seem improper to human studies; it will undoubtedly sound strange to some, reminding here of the soul, or the reasoning spirit of humans. For someone might easily argue against us, stating that the human soul belongs only to the invisible things and nothing to do with the art-painting; which chooses only the visible bodies for its objects. But we counter: Since the art images, deprived of their own nature, lack life and motion; this directs us even more to see where images in representations can be so brought forth; that they convey to the viewer all the behaviors of canvas and panel, paint and oil, or of wood and stone and copper, whether cast or sculpted, and provide a concept that they are not painted nor cast, but naturally living human depictions.
Why the discussion of the soul also belongs to human studies.