part of the length of the figure. The best-proportioned figures of the ancients are seven heads and three quarters in height, but they vary as required by the different characteristics of the figure. If, therefore, the figure stands upright, as fig. A, plate VI., draw a perpendicular line from the top of the head to the heel, which must be divided into two equal parts. The bottom of the belly is exactly the centre of the figure. Then divide the lower part into two equal parts again; the middle of which is to be the middle of the knee. The method of delineating the upper part of the figure is as follows:-Take off with the compasses the length of the face, which is about three-fourths of the length of the head; then set off the length of another face from the pit of the throat to the pit of the stomach; thence to the navel is another face in length, and thence to the lower rim of the belly is a third. The entire line must then be divided into seven equal parts against the end of the first division is the situation of the breasts; the second is the place of the navel; at the third mark out the privities; the fourth comes in the middle of the thigh; the fifth to the lower part of the knee; the sixth to the lower part of the calf; and the seventh to the bottom of the heel; the heel of the leg which supports the body being always under the pit of the throat. As the essence of all good drawing consists in making a correct sketch at first, the student must be very accurate and careful in this stage of his business, rubbing out and sketching again till he is right in all the bearings and proportions; and firishing no one part perfectly till he finds the general sketch and character of the figure complete and good; and when it is all in, correctly to his mind, he may then proceed to the finishing of one part after another, with all the fidelity in his power. When these more mechanical parts are acquired, and their real measurements tolerably familiar, the student may proceed in respect to the order and manner of drawing the human figure, as follows:-First he should sketch the head; then the shoulders in their exact breadth, in relation to the head; then draw the trunk of the body, beginning with the arm-pits (leaving the arms for an after consideration), and so trace all the beautiful undulations which form the outline of the human body, down the hips on both sides; observing carefully the exact breadth of the waist. Then he should draw that leg upon which the body stands, and afterwards the other which is in repose: then the arms, and last of all the hands. He must carefully notice all the bowings and bendings that are in the figure; making the part which is opposite to that bending inwards correspond to its antagonist by swelling outwards. For instance: if one side of the body bend in, the other must naturally swell out to be answerable to it: if the back bend in, the belly must swell out; if the knee bend out, the ham must bend in, and so on of every other joint in the body. In a word, he must endeavour to form all the parts of the figure with truth, and in just proportion; not one arm or one leg bigger or less than the other; nor broad Herculean shoulders with a weak and slender waist; nor raw and bony arms with thick and puffy legs; but preserving an harmonious agreement and keeping amongst all the members, and consequently a beautiful symmetry throughout the whole figure. When these rudiments of drawing the human figure are thus acquired, and the student can draw with sufficient correctness, he must next apply himself to its study after the antique and nature in a philosophical manner; studying OsTEOLOGY and ANATOMY as his surest directors. See those articles. Some artists, when they have a statue to copy, begin with the head, which they finish, and then In copying after the antique, which should preproceed in the same manner to the other parts of cede and always accompany that of drawing after the figure, perfecting as they go on: but this nature, the following statues and sculptures are manner is generally unsuccessful; for, if they among the master-pieces of ancient art to which make the head in the least too large or too small, the student's attention is particularly directed, as the consequence is a manifest disproportion be subjects for his studies in chalk drawing or detween all the parts, occasioned by their not hav- sign: namely, first of all the remains of ancient ing sketched the whole proportionably at first. art, those incomparable works known by the Let the more advanced student therefore remem- name of the Elgin marbles. Of these the figure ber that, in whatever he intends to draw, he called Theseus or Hercules, the Ilissus, the Cushould first sketch its several parts, measuring pid, and the wonderful fragment of the chest the distances and proportions between cach with and shoulders of Neptune, stand pre-eminent his finger or his pencil, without using the com- among the naked ones: the colossal statue of passes, observing the precept of Du Piles to Bacchus, the Fates, the Victory, the Canephora, bear the compass in his eye,' and then to judge and the Panathenaic procession amor, the of its general effect by the eye which by degrees dressed and every one of them-from the Mewill be able to estimate truth and proportion, and topes to the fragment of a toe-for various will become his principal and best guide. Let degrees and kinds of perfection in art. They him also observe, as a general rule, invariably to were for more than 700 years the admiration of begin with the right hand side of the piece he the ancient world, and, in the time of Plutarch, is copying; for thus he will always have what he were regarded as inimitable for their grace and has done before his eyes, and the rest will follow beauty. more naturally and with greater ease. Whereas if he begin with the left side of the figure, his hand and arm will cover what he does first, and deprive him of the sight of it; by which means he will not be able to proceed with so much ease, pleasure, or certainty. The torso of the Belvedere, commonly called the torso of Michelangiolo, as being a considerable favorite with that great master, is another beautiful study for the young artist; as is also the Farnese Hercules, which is a standard master-piece of art. The Apollo Belvedere is the most sublime of ancient statues, and presents a beautiful subject for the pencil. The Laocoon possesses splendid beauties of another character; and the Venus de Medicis is a perfect model of feminine beauty, grace, elegance, and sweetness, and is indeed the perfection of the female form. The Antinous of the Belvedere is a magnificent specimen of male youthful beauty, and the celebrated Gladiators are remarkable for their display of anatomical correctness. When the student has mastered these, and imbued his mind with their beauties and proportions, he may commence drawing after nature, or from the living model; undertaking a course of anatomy and anatomical drawing, and an occasional return to the beauties of the antique, to prevent a too great mannerism and individuality of form. SECT. VII.-OF THE PROPORTIONS. AND MEA SURES OF THE HUMAN BODY. The centre, or middle part, between the extremities of the head and feet of a well-proportioned new-born child is in the navel, but that of an adult is in the os pubis; and the practice of di PROPORTIONS OF THE viding the measures of children into four, five, and six parts, of which one is given to the head, is made use of in the way of proportion both by painters and sculptors. A child of two years of age is in general about five heads high, but, of four or five years old, nearly six; about the fifteenth or sixteenth year, seven heads are the proportion or measure, and the centre declines to the upper part of the pubis. Hence it appears that, as the growth of the body advances, there is a gradual approach to the proportion of an adult of nearly eight heads in the whole height; of which, as before mentioned, the head itself makes one. Upon these principles the following table is constructed, exhibiting the proportions of a strong, and of a graceful man, and of a fine woman, as given by the ancients, measured from the originals at Rome, and published by J. J. Volpato and Raffaelle Morghen. It is found in Elmes's Dictionary of the Fine Arts. The models are, the Farnese Hercules, the Belvedere Apollo, and the Medicean Venus, which may be classed as the Doric, the Ionic, and the Corinthian orders of human beauty. From the beginning of the head to the root of the hairs From the root of the hairs to the eye-brows, or beginning of the nose From the eye-brows to the end of the nose HERCULES APOLLO. P. M. P. M. P. M. 3 0 3 0 3 0 3 0 3 0 3 0 3 0 3 3 0 5 4 3 9 From the swell of the foot to the bottom of the figure, or to the ground From the clavicle or collar-bone to the beginning of the deltoid muscle The greatest breadth of the trunk, taken a little below the beginning of the thorax 22 4 18 3 The breadth of the trunk from the end of the breast. 15 4 The narrowest part of the same, taken at the beginning of the flank The greatest breadth of the ossa ilei, where the flanks project most From the highest part of the deltoid muscle to the end of the biceps. From the beginning of the os humeri to the cubit The greatest breadth of the knee, opposite to the middle of the patella The greatest breadth of the calf of the leg. The greatest breadth between the inner and the outer ancle 0 11 0 258052 11 15 1 16 0 2 4 5 20 2 14 O 5 0 6 1 5 3 4 5 17 19 9 2 35 PROPORTIONS OF THE The narrowest part of the foot. The broadest part of the same. 6 4 15 4 From the last vertebra of the neck to the lower part of the os From the end of the os sacrum to the end of the glutaus muscle From the beginning of the gastrocnemius muscle to the end of the figure The entire proportions of these celebrated statues are, in round numbers; the Hercules seven heads, three parts, seven minutes (four parts being equal to one head, and twelve minutes equal to one part). The Apollo seven heads, three parts, six minutes; and the Venus seven heads, three parts. The other most admired statues differ a little from these proportions-the Laocoon measuring (if erect) seven heads, two parts, three minutes; the Pyramus seven heads, two parts; the Antinous seven heads, two parts; the Grecian shepherdess seven heads, three parts, six minutes; and the Mirmillo eight heads; but all their various proportions are harmonious and agreeable, and in keeping with the characters of the figures they represent. It is a leading principle, in which every person who is conversant in the arts of design agrees, that, without a perfect knowledge of the proportions of the human figure, nothing can be produced but absurdity and extravagance; and it is also universally admitted, that the ancient Greek and Roman sculptors attained the highest success in producing unexceptionable models. The greatest modern artists, who have exaLoined these antique statues with attention, admit, that several of the ancient sculptors have, in some degree, surpassed nature, no living man having been found so perfect in every part as some of their figures are. The opportunities for acquiring excellence, which they possessed, were indeed great: Greece abounded with models of beauty, strength, and elegance; and Rome being mistress of the world, every thing beautiful, rich, or curious was brought to it, from all parts. The motives which inspired them and their patrons were also powerful. Religion, glory, and interest, all united in their aid. They considered it a kind of religious duty to give to the figures of their gods so much beauty and grandeur, as to attract at once the love and veneration of the people. Their own glory was also concerned, particular honors being conferred on those who succeeded; and for their fortune they had no farther care to take of that, after arriving at a certain degree of celebrity. SECT. VIII.-OF THE ATTITUDES OF THE HU- If an artist be required to represent a powerful athletic figure, such as a Hercules or a Sampson, in a state of vigorous action, he must pay particular attention to the parts or limbs which are principally exerted in such action. If the figure be standing, the foot must he placed in a right line or perpendicular to the trunk or bulk of the body, so that the centre of 30 1 This point gravity may be placed in equilibrio. For example, suppose Hercules is to be represented, aiming a blow with his club, at something before him, towards his left side. Then must his right leg be placed so as to receive the whole weight of his body, and the left merely touching the ground with the toes. In this case the external muscles of the right leg must be strongly marked; while those of the left leg must be represented more flaccid, and in repose; but, as the foot is extended, the muscles that compose the calf of the leg are extended also, as those of the right are compressed and tumefied. For if the leg or tibia is extended, then the extending muscles are most swelled; but if it be bent, then the bending muscles and their tendons appear most plainly. The like may be observed of the muscles of the whole figure in general, if it be represented in vigorous action. The Laocoon furnishes an example of this muscular appearance being carried through the whole figure; while in the Antinous, the Apollo, the youthful Bacchus, and other figures where no energetic action is expressed, the muscles are expressed but faintly, as they appear through the skin in nature. The clavicles, or collar bones, and the muscles in general, do not show themselves so strongly in the female as in the other sex, nor in youths as in adults. Nor will any action in which a female uses her utmost strength occasion such risings or indications of the muscles as they do in the stronger sex. The great quantity of fat under the skin of females so clothes their more delicate muscles as to prevent such a marked appearance. SECT. IX.-OF THE EFFECTS OF THE EXER- The most obvious effects of the exertion of those muscles which chiefly demand the attention of the artist are the following: viz. If either of the mastoid muscles (see the plate of muscles in Anatomy,) act, the head is turned to the contraryside, and the muscle which performs that action appears very plainly through the skin. If the arms be raised, the deltoid muscles placed on the shoulders, which perform that |