The page discusses the proportions of the human body in art, breaking down distances between various body parts such as the eyes, mouth, chin, and more. It explains that the length of extended arms matches the total height of the figure and provides detailed measurements for each section. The text highlights the complexity of these measurements and their alignment with established proportions.
Drawing.
From one side of the eyes to the other, there are twelve parts; specifically, four for each eye, and four for the space between them. The width of the mouth is only four of these parts.
From the chin to the hollow in the neck, where the chest begins, there are twelve parts, or alternatively, from the hollow to the hair, thirty parts, and up to the top of the head thirty-six parts, including the third of the face that forms the summit. From the hollow to the navel, there are thirty-six more parts: from the navel to the lower belly, eighteen parts: from there to the knee, thirty-six; finally, from the knee to the sole of the feet, fifty-four parts; making a total of one hundred eighty parts for the entire height of the figure. It should be noted that the knee consists of nine of these parts, with an additional nine from the ankle to the sole of the foot; however, all this is included in the one hundred eighty parts of the entire figure. The length of the foot is twenty of these parts, which constitutes one ninth of the total height, which aligns with the proportions established by Cardan.
The length of the extended arms is equal to the total height of the figure: the chest should have thirty parts, the bone of the arm twenty-seven parts; the bones of the forearm thirty, and the hand eighteen parts. Add twenty-seven more parts for the bone of the other arm, thirty for the forearm, and eighteen for the hand, and in total, you will find similarly one hundred eighty parts for the length of the extended arms joined to the chest. Moreover, all these measurements and subdivisions are so complex that we would have been tempted to remove them entirely if we had not believed that, by retaining them, we would please those interested.
Translation Notes:
"Parts" refer to proportional segments used in classical art to measure the human body.