The text discusses the art of drawing, emphasizing the importance of careful imitation and the zeal, study, and experience needed to achieve proficiency. It advises against over-reliance on the camera obscura, a tool that helps depict accurate images even for those without drawing skills, as it may hinder artistic progress. The text explains that the principles discussed are drawn from a larger body of work related to the sciences and arts.
ON DRAWING.
To feel its beauties. When you feel them, you can indeed reproduce them, and then you possess what is called the good manner: an expression that always implies the most scrupulous imitation. But it is only through the most ardent zeal, the most laborious study, and the most consummate experience that one reaches this goal. The reward is in the hands of the artist: he cultivates his heritage, he waters his own laurels: the flowers and fruits that will arise from this work will lead him to the temple of immortality, which even envy will be forced to open for him.
Sometimes the camera obscura is used to draw landscapes, ruins of ancient buildings, or perspective views. This instrument has the advantage of representing objects as they are in nature; so that even those who cannot draw can easily represent everything they want very accurately. However, when one possesses the skill of drawing, one should not abuse the ease that this instrument provides, as it would cool the taste, and this habit would subtly hinder the progress that could be made in the art of drawing. You can find the description of this camera obscura at the end of our Method for learning drawing, edition of 1755.
The precepts and judicious reflections contained in this Summary of principles on drawing are mostly taken from a discourse placed at the beginning of the plates on drawing, in the third volume of the collection of plates on sciences and arts, part of the great Encyclopedic Dictionary. As this discourse on drawing is found mingled with an infinity of other topics,