— ii —

Architecture can also be classified among the Arts linked to Drawing, due to its great reliance on it for directing its tasks. Drawing proper consists of reproducing the image of objects by representing the outlines of bodies and their forms through lines and shadows.
Color and various methods of execution different from those of Drawing constitute Painting, which always has Drawing as its base, and is itself only a genre in relation to Drawing.
Usually disregarding the help of colors, Sculpture represents the images of bodies in a way that makes them palpable through faithful imitation, and often by identical reproduction of the shapes of nature. The intimate union of Sculpture with Drawing proper is evident; it is not within the scope of our work to deal with it in detail.
The essential point for us is to fully acknowledge here the primitive and general sense that no one can deny to the term Drawing.
The true purpose and useful application of Drawing seem well indicated by the meaning of the word itself. Learning to draw, therefore, is for us truly being able to reproduce the image of all that one can see. The strongest in Drawing will be the one who can represent the greatest number of objects that have caught their eye, and the best draughtsman will be the one who achieves the most fidelity in the images they have retraced from these objects, who has reproduced with the greatest accuracy the proportions and forms, with the most truth the character and expression.
It is possible, indeed, to mention people who have acquired more or less skill in handling the pencil, but who could not draw anything from nature: we won't try to find the name that should be given to this type of talent. If we were forced to explain this point, we would say that it seems to us that these individuals would not have truly learned Drawing. We will recognize true Drawing only when it is Drawing from nature, and applied to all sorts of objects.
If Drawing were always presented in this aspect, it would offer such great advantages that it would no longer be considered merely among the arts of pure pleasure, and it would be elevated to the rank of a genuinely and continually useful art: it would become one of the indispensable elements of education for all classes of society.
Drawing, as we have just defined it, is a kind of writing without which we dare say the most learned man often finds himself an incomplete man, whether in social relations, or as a scholar or industrialist, incapable of transmitting a wealth of memories, concepts, and indications for future generations.

Translation Notes:
- "Drawing proper" refers to drawing in its specific artistic context, focusing on outlines and forms.
- "Sculpture represents...the shapes of nature": highlights the tactile imitation in sculpture.