The text discusses the principles of drawing landscapes from nature, emphasizing the importance of comparing the sizes of objects to the largest dimension in a composition. It specifically addresses drawing a landscape as seen through a window, detailing how to frame and position the observer relative to the window. The method involves careful measurement and comparison to ensure faithful reproduction of the landscape.
On Landscape.
The various demonstrations we have previously given will also apply to drawing landscapes from nature. The principle of any drawing of this kind will always be to compare the sizes of the various objects to be drawn with the largest dimension of the composition we have undertaken to represent, as discussed earlier. This dimension is deliberately chosen on the drawing and once taken, serves as a frame of reference for all other comparisons. Initially, it will be vital to establish the frame that encompasses all the objects to be drawn, and through a series of comparisons, one can faithfully reproduce the objects, composing the landscape as our eyes perceive them.
Drawing a landscape seen through a window.
We begin with an application that presents the least difficulty. Suppose one intends to draw from nature a landscape seen through a window, with the window itself forming the frame of the drawing. The window may be open or closed. Here, we have one half closed and one half open. The observer aims to draw all the objects visible through this window. Since the dimensions of the window are those of the composition as seen, one must start by moving away from the window a distance equal to twice the largest dimension of this window; here, it will be twice the height of the window. If the window is five feet high, the observer will move ten feet away. They should position themselves either directly in front of the middle of the window or to the side, depending on the part of the composition that is of most interest. Here, we assume the observer is directly in front of the middle of the window.
Once in this position, one assigns on the paper a height BD representing the window's height, which is the largest dimension of the composition as stated. One compares with a pencil or ruler the width of the window to its height. Here, the width CD is approximately equal to three-quarters of the height BD; thus, on the paper, one measures out a width CD equal to three-quarters of the height BD willingly assigned, thereby completing the frame of the composition on the paper.
For the part of the window that is closed, one starts by drawing the panes. One divides the
Translation Notes:
‘D’après nature’ translates to 'from nature,’ often used in art to imply drawing directly from real life or physical observation.