This page provides instructions on drawing various structures using ellipses and perspectives, such as wells, towers, and barrels, emphasizing the importance of proportion and point of view. It explains how to depict stones in the well’s walls by using half-ellipses parallel to a main ellipse and discusses foreshortening techniques. Additionally, the text guides viewers on how to draw fountains, tree trunks, and church elements like porches and steeples from life, using previously described methods.
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Referring to the illustration, we find a simple way to achieve the desired result. When you view the small diameter of the large ellipse from the outside, it should be equal to one-third of the large diameter. Meanwhile, the small diameter of the inner ellipse should also be one-third of the large diameter of the same ellipse. Notice that segment ef (see figure 11) must be larger than segment rs.
Regarding the stones forming the well’s sides, note that lines lm, np, etc., marking the stones’ seating, are all half-ellipses parallel to ellipse ab (figure 11). Ensure the curvature is increasingly visible as these bases lower (see figure 3).
The middle stones should appear wider than those on the sides. The middle stone is seen straightforwardly; the one next to it is foreshortened, and the subsequent one appears even narrower. The lines formed by the sides of the stones or their separations all converge at the ellipse's center.
The bucket is drawn like the glass.
The barrel, figure 12, is drawn like the glass and the well. The staves are in perspective like the stones of the well; those in the middle must appear wider than those at the sides. The circles are drawn like the curves lm, np, etc., on the well (figure 11).
The round table with feet, figure 16, is drawn like the glass with a foot, figure 6.
The tower, figure 13, always drawn from nature, is portrayed like the glass, figures 5 and 7. Note that a tower being generally tall, it is unusual for the observer’s eye to be above it; thus, the viewpoint is below the upper ellipse of the tower, meaning you see the top like the top of the glass (figure 7), while if the eye is above the base, you see the base of the tower like the base of the glass (figure 5).
The viewpoint in figure 13 appears near the middle of the tower at point b. You can ensure this by previous observations made in figures 8 and 9. Curves above point b curve upwards; those below curve downwards. The line where point b is found is a horizontal line. We conclude that the line passing through point b is at eye level. This is where the viewpoint should be.
The fountain or fountain stand, figure 14, is also drawn like the glass, figure 5. Imagine water falling into a partially filled basin. Water splashing, if hitting a hard surface, describes falling circles placed horizontally, which in perspective appear as ellipses.
A tree trunk, figure 17, is drawn similarly to the glass in figure 5.
Drawing a church porch and steeple from life.
If figure 10's bottle is seen from below, adding curve l to k like the line in figure 8, this line represents the bottom of the steeple’s arrow or ab in figure 18. Then (in figure 10), drawing straight or slightly curved lines from l to d and k to c, these lines would join at a point representing point a in figure 18. The life drawing of the bottle, figure 10, prepares you to draw the steeple of figure 18 from life. The rest of this figure belongs to the drawing of boxes from the first chapter.
Translation Notes:
- "gnomon" suggests the visual guide to managing perspectives.
- "lm, np" refers to specific curves or arcs used in illustrations.