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The text provides instructions on drawing the mass of a head viewed in profile from a bust or nature. It details the positioning of the observer, the measurement of dimensions for accurate representation, and finding the inclination or movement of the head. It includes guidance on using tools to determine and compare various dimensions and angles.

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Adele. The operations would be exactly the same for the live model, as it will be quite easy for the student to observe.
One should practice drawing the mass of a head viewed from the profile, the front, and three-quarters.

Drawing the Mass of a Head, from Nature or from a Bust, Viewed in Profile.

Place a bust in front of you so that it is viewed in profile, like the bust in plate 10 (fig. 1). Stand back at least twice the height of this bust, in order to take in the entire height in one glance. Do not position yourself too high or too low; your eye should be slightly below the bust's eye, as a head viewed from below always has more nobility.
Here, figure t represents the bust that the student will place in front of themselves, and figure a represents the mass of the drawing that the student should execute based on this bust.
The student should choose on the paper and with two points determined by will, the height they intend to represent for the bust or the posing person.
Having freely chosen the height of figure aₐ, which should represent AB, the model's height, compare on the pointer the height of the model's foot with the total height, just as you compared the height DE of the column base with the total height (see plate 8, fig. 3). Here AC, the height of the foot (fig. 1), equals one-fifth of AB, total height. On the drawing, mark a dimension represented here by ac, equal to one-fifth of the total height AC. Constantly compare on the pointer, the height represented by AC, with the height CB; here, CD equals two-fifths of CB. On the drawing, take a dimension represented here by cₑ, equal to two-fifths of the height ac. Thus, on the paper, the dimensions represented here by ac, cd, db, are intended to contain, 1) the foot, 2) the torso, 3) the head.
Once these heights are found, one must find the inclination or movement of the head. This movement is found as follows:
Holding the pointer vertically (see plate 3, fig. 8), move it forward or backward until it seems to touch the part of the face that appears to advance the most. If the head leans forward, it will be the forehead that seems to touch the perpendicular we hold. Let's take for example figure 3. Here, line ab is intended to represent the pointer or any other line object. Hold it vertically and at the same time see the angle formed by this object with the head, one must see the object clearly the point represented by a, the lower end of the pointer moves away from the chin represented by b. Then compare this distance with the thickness of the head. Here equal measures one-third of the head height. On paper, draw a vertical line approximately equal to the intended height for the head. From the point represented by a, draw a horizontal line from left to right, and on this line take, starting from point a, a dimension d, equal to one-third ab, head height, then, from a point represented by c, draw the line cd. The point represented by c should always be taken at two-thirds of the head height.
If the head is tilted backward, as in figure 4, the chin would be the furthest advanced part; the chin will seem to touch the line while the forehead appears to move away. Draw again (on paper) a vertical marked here by ab (fig. 4), and it will be above, towards two-thirds of the head height, that one draws a horizontal line from b to c on which a dimension represented here by bc will be taken, and this is in a line represented here by ac. Thus, one has the inclination or movement of the head.
Here (fig. 1), the head is tilted forward. After finding the movement, as demonstrated (fig. 3), compare, on the pointer, the greatest width of the head represented here by the dimension EF, with the height DB. Here, it is the general rule, the width EF, taken at three-quarters of the height, equals the height DB, minus one-eighth. On paper, starting from a

Translation Notes

bosse: Often indicates a “bust” or relief.
porte-crayon: A tool akin to a pointer or stylus used for measuring dimensions in drawing.