The Principles: Sixth Lesson

No matter who you are in the world, no skill can enable you to judge anything related to Art in general unless you deeply understand Drawing, and have learned it thoroughly in all its parts. There is no one, therefore, who can give their opinion on a Painting, or decide if the Painter has observed all the rules, if they do not themselves know what these rules consist of. It is indeed, in my opinion, a great folly of certain Curious individuals, who consider themselves skilled, to gather all sorts of Pieces with incredible fervor without knowing what they are purchasing; whether it is Gold or Copper, a Horse or a Donkey; and sometimes they spend a hundred Ducats on a piece of Art that is not worth ten; which can only occur because they are not in a position to judge it. However, the world is full of this type of People, whose ignorance is hidden, and who judge a Painting only by the colors that strike their eyes, incapable of going further: although if Art receives no advantage from their delusion, it also suffers no harm. Thus Hoogstrate does not deviate from the point when, in his "Notice to the Reader", he makes the same Remark; and says: "Thus," he says, "this Introduction will be very useful to all those who love Painting, although they are not Connoisseurs; and will prevent them from being deceived in the purchase of various Works; since, in this way, they will be able to evaluate them according to their worth, without regard for the Name of the skilled Painters to whom they are attributed; just as there are several people who have a great opinion of miserable Pieces because someone or another told them they are by the hand of a famous Painter. It is undoubtedly a ridiculous curiosity to infinitely esteem something, and to take it as a Masterpiece of Art, when there is nothing beautiful or exquisite in it."

Furthermore, one must observe that visible Objects are defined by always measuring with the eyes the distance from one part to another; and that, to steady the hand, one must learn the correct way of holding the charcoal or pencil; which consists of holding it between the thumb and the second finger and supporting it on the tip of the middle one, which should be slightly bent. Otherwise, charcoal has always been used for sketching; but ever since the Pencil came to our knowledge, it seems to me that it is cleaner and more suitable for handling; moreover, if it is of good quality, one can easily erase its lines with bread crumbs. With all this, I believe that charcoal fits better for beginners, and the pencil for those a bit more advanced.

The main point of Drawing is to sketch well, and this is why one should pay great attention to it. Some, for example, who have a Statue to copy, start with the head, which they finish, and then complete the rest of the Figure from top to bottom. This method usually fails, whether they have made the head too large or too small, resulting in a whole of disproportionate parts, which do not align with the Original; which only happens from not having well observed the distances we just discussed. Therefore, those who are eager to learn should bear in mind that in everything they have to draw, they are to distinguish it initially in its different parts, measure the distances with the finger or Pencil, without Compasses; and judge by eye, which gradually becomes accustomed to accuracy, which is our main Guide, as I suggested more than once before. Thus, when one has copied the Example following the way I teach, and fully masters this Method, everything else will become easy.

Example.

Translation Notes:

1. "Curious" in this context refers to those who have an interest or curiosity but are not necessarily knowledgeable.

2. "Connoisseurs" refers to those with expert judgment in matters of fine art.