This passage discusses the traits necessary for success in drawing, emphasizing that effort alone cannot surpass mediocrity without innate talent. A love for one's creations is crucial, but it must not blind one to progress. It advises starting the practice of drawing at a young age to avoid discouragement from early imperfections, as drawing requires a long and dedicated period of study to achieve excellence.
Drawing.
No matter how much effort one puts in, they will never achieve more than increasing the number of mediocre artists.
When a student only approaches his original with exhaustion and through intense effort, this is almost always a sign of a heavy and limited talent.
Another sign of a fortunate disposition is a certain love for one's creations, albeit still very imperfect, as long as it does not blind us into believing we are close to the goal we are still so far from; it should instead encourage us to push our studies further, and inspire in us the desire to continuously improve: whereas the dissatisfaction seen in some people who are never content with their work is a major obstacle to their advancement.
This dissatisfaction usually indicates competence in theory, but that one will never make substantial progress in practice.
This almost always happens to people who start drawing at a slightly advanced age, because their judgment is too formed to not see the imperfections of their early attempts, leading to discouragement that greatly hinders the progress they should make, causing them to spend time in useless reflections.
For this reason, one should begin to study from a very tender age, for those destined for this profession, so that they can pass through the inevitable displeasures of early studies at an age where they are not in a state to feel the distaste.
Another reason to start early is that drawing requires a very long study to reach an uncommon degree of perfection; add to that the fact that one produces or