The text discusses the fundamental role of perspective in drawing from nature, emphasizing the importance of learning to see accurately. It uses the example of a square box to illustrate how our eyes perceive objects differently from their actual shape, underscoring the necessity of understanding perspective. The text suggests exercises and methods for accurately capturing what is seen, rather than what is assumed, which is crucial for drawing accurately from nature.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
OF DRAWING FROM NATURE,
WITHOUT A TEACHER.
Drawing from nature is based on perspective, which is itself much easier than is commonly thought.
Learning to draw is about learning to see. It would be easy to start tracing lines, but the real challenge is placing them correctly. If they are misplaced, it's because one has misjudged the relative position or proportions: it means one has seen poorly.
Here, the most basic notions of practical perspective become indispensable. Fortunately, they are quite simple.
We do not see objects as they really are. Our eyes only receive appearances, and these images change whenever the object moves in relation to the observer or the observer moves in relation to the object.
Consider one of the simplest objects, a square box, which we will assume is placed some distance from our eye. Knowing that the box is square, you might believe you see it as square. An experiment that's easy to repeat will prove that your eye does not see the box as square, as you would be tempted to believe. Place between the box and your eye a pane of glass "prepared in a way that can hold the line of a pencil or a pen; then trace on the glass the lines as you see them, representing the sides and faces of the box you can observe. Your tracing will provide you the image of the box as it is painted in your eye, and it is then that you will be forced to recognize that the sides and faces of the box are represented by uneven lines. These sides and faces are naturally what one calls put into perspective.
This is certainly a very simple first lesson in Perspective. Yet, it establishes the fundamental principle of drawing from nature. This principle consists in representing objects as they are truly seen and not as they really are and as one believes them to be, * when * One can dissolve a bit of gum arabic in water and, using a sponge soaked in this gum water, evenly wet the glass surface; after letting it dry well, all types of pencils, and even the line of the pen, adhere on the thus prepared glass. Consult the "Treatise on Simplified Perspective" (pages 142-144) for the description of the instrument my father invented, which makes it very easy to trace from nature all sorts of objects, and even an entire landscape.