[proposition de traduction, Léonard Pouy:] Certains esprits amateurs d’art trouveront étrange que j’insère ici le lien de l’observation des choses réelles et naturelles dans la chaîne de l’art de peinture, mais […] j’ai souvent observé une très grave erreur régulièrement commise (et je le dis avec respect) et ce, qu’ils s’agissent des maîtres les plus grands et les plus estimés ou non. […] La simple raison en est qu’ils n’observent pas la particularité naturelle des choses avec suffisamment d’attention. […] S’ils avaient correctement observé les propriétés naturelles des choses de près, ils auraient pu éviter cette erreur en prêtant davantage d’attention à leur mouvement naturel, nous présentant leurs formes propres telles qu’elles nous apparaissent véritablement ; car lorsqu’une roue de carrosse ou de rouet tourne avec grande force, l’on remarque qu’en raison de cette rotation, la trace de ce mouvement n’est visible que de manière brouillée. Si j’ai vu de nombreuses peintures où des roues de carrosses sont représentées, je ne les ai jamais vues correctement imitées, mais avec chaque partie dessinée ou peinte de telle manière qu’il soit impossible de distinguer si le carrosse est à l’arrêt ou en mouvement. Certes beaucoup jugeront ces particularités bien plus difficiles à imiter que d’autres mais dans la mesure où nous sommes des imitateurs de la vie, nous ne devons pas nous épargner davantage d’effort (si ceci nous rapproche d’une imitation réussie des choses naturelles). La peine n’en sera d’ailleurs pas plus grande, même si dans la pratique l’inhabituel est plus pénible, mais bien plus légere.

[proposition de traduction, Léonard Pouy:] Voyez ainsi ce qu’il peut apporter de prêter attention à la vérité des choses naturelles. Non seulement des erreurs seront écartées mais de nombreuses choses douces et aimables viendront au jour, telles les figures inclues çà et là par ceux qui font leur étude en peignant des Corps de garde : ici un grossier personnage fumant du tabac, là une petite figure occupée à revêtir son armure; ailleurs enfin, d’autres assises jouant aux dés ou aux atouts; parmi elles également, un simple soldat se souciant d’allumer sa Mèche et, la voyant s’embraser par friction avec l’air, tente d’y faire prendre la flamme en la faisant rapidement tournoyer dans les airs. […] je n’ai encore jamais observé une telle vérité, mais je crois néanmoins que cela ne serait pas moins plaisant que naturel aux yeux des amateurs, et susciterait un plus grand désir pour l’art. Voyez, il y a encore tant d’autres choses naturelles qui mériteraient d’être imitées et que je laisse à l’observation attentive des justes esprits amateurs d’art […]

[proposition de traduction, Léonard Pouy:] Voyez la représentation du vrai et du naturel peut être le fruit d’une lecture appropriée de l’histoire et de son examen lorsqu’ils sont associés à des réflexions hautes et profondes. J’ai trouvé quelque chose de semblablement original mais naturel dans une petite grisaille de Jan Lievens, dans laquelle il a représenté le sacrifice du patriarche Abraham, chose qui était très inhabituelle et pourtant naturelle. […] Voyez, cette liberté est légitime car il faudrait lire plus d’un livre pour parvenir à une telle connaissance variée de l’histoire, chose pouvant consister en une plus ample description ou explication, l’essence ou certains aspects de celle-ci devant être imités par le peintre en usant de son bon jugement. […] Le même esprit a également montré sa merveilleuse réflexion en représentant l’histoire de Bethsabée […].

LIEVENS, Jan, Bathsheba, s.d, huile sur toile.
LIEVENS, Jan, Das opfer Abrahams, v. 1637, huile sur toile, 180 x 136, Braunschweig, Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum, GG 242.

LIEVENS, Jan

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] As such there are many other cases, in which the Painter should behave himself carefully, if he wants to regain people’s favor. {General remarks to make oneself loved.} In general People always want to be more beautiful than they really are; as everyone likes to please oneself: Therefore in Portraying, the Painter should acquire the habit of flattering fittingly, in a way that is more natural than ostentatious; choosing the posture well in a good pose, beautiful and without unpleasant shadows in the Face, making it truly resemble: because if someone has beauty, he would be glad to see it in his Painting.

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] {Night-light causes hard shadows.} Yet while Drawing by Night-light has this issue, that it causes very hard and cut-off shades and strong lights, why many end up with cruelty, Coppery glittering highlights, flickering lights and glassy reflections, which is why some try to guard themselves against this by placing between the light and the model a pane of fine and thinly oiler Paper, to make the shades softer. (…) {Daylight is the natural and best light.} However, of all of these the daylight should be praised most of all and is therefore the most advisable; as one can see a simple evenness of day and shadow and a natural reflection in it:

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] {How one will position the Model.} One should also find a good manner, to position the Model the right way, and choose the right Actions, doing so (to avoid all sorts of Chaos) in turn: And let him whose turn it is, beforehand sketch an Action on Paper from his mind, to not lose too much time with positioning; it may either be an Action that is thought up, or after the invention of a good Master, as it may arise from Memory or from seeing the Art of Print or Drawings; {How one may also follow some Actions after others [ndr.: other artists].} as one sees many beautiful, virtuous and amazingly nice Actions and Figures under the things by Raphael, Primaticcio, Carracci, Giulio Romano, Polidoro, Testa and many other sensible Masters, both Old and contemporary; in which everyone can follow his free will and spirited Mind. {Naturally pleasing Actions are often best.} One should also pay attention to the Natural Actions, that sometimes occur from the own movement of your Model, which are sometimes much more magnificent, true and careful than those that are formed with premeditation or can be conceived;

Anciens (les)
CARRACCI, Annibale
IL PRIMATICCIO (Francesco Primaticcio)
Modernes (Les)
POLIDORO DA CARAVAGGIO
RAFFAELLO (Raffaello Sanzio)
ROMANO, Giulio
TESTA, Pietro

This section is quite different in the English translation and the Italian masters are not mentioned. [MO]

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] {Colored Crayons.} The aforementioned Pipeclay can also be used to make all sorts of colored Crayons; which is done as follows: (…) as such they will be very adequate to accentuate in Sketches, Compositions and Drawings the things in a painterly way, with their proper colors; and afterwards pass through the Gum Water; by which the Crayons become firm and avoid tearing. Others make these Crayons with old Glue, Gum and other materials, with which they can draw whole portraits very nicely and naturally, they almost appear Painted.

In this section Goeree explicitly discusses which choice of drawing material is best for each stage of the drawing process. MO]

[BLANC J? 2006, p. 370] Mais que vous vouliez à peine indiquer les choses ou que vous vouliez les faire le plus nettement possible, il faut que votre main et votre pinceau obéissent à votre œil et à votre jugement, afin que votre façon de [ndr : faire ] se conforme au caractère du naturel.

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] As Man is made from one Blood; and all Actions that spring from the passions of the Mind - and do not depend on the Civil Traditions (because they differ far too much) – can be found in everyone, therefor we conclude (for as far as the Actions are concerned), from the observation of the Painted Movements, just like that which we are used to think, do and want in such a Posture, Action or Gesture, we truly see it happen before our Eyes. It was said of the Netherlandish Painter Jan van Eyck that he had painted a Cecilia playing on the Organ in the company of singing Angels; In which [ndr: painting] the Actions were so naturally conceived, that a wise Singer could see from their mouth and cheeks, who sang the bass, the tenor, the altus or the superius.

VAN EYCK, Jan

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] On the Composition of Figures according to the Natural and incidental posture of movement in all sorts of Action. Let us proceed from the composition of the Face in specific to another important and common Part of the Anatomy; Namely to the Artful composition of the moving Posture of Working human Figures; And in that context point out to which degree the Figures can carry out appropriately and Naturally, all sorts of Doings and Actions of Standing, Going, Walking, Hauling, Carrying, Throwing and others, within a certain Line of Conduct and Weight and Counter-weight, without falling or showing an impossibility in their Action: So the Draughtsman or Painter who finds himself well-trained in this, has the tools at hand to conceive his Figures such in all sorts of occurrences and choices, to the purpose of the proposed action, that they will never appear to be against the Draught, nor against the possibility of the Action, with regard to the Creation and structure of the Limbs. And as this is one of the most important Chapters of the Art of Painting, as such it has not only concerned all Great and Wise Masters, to act wisely in this regard, but many have continuously urged their Pupils with diligence to pay close attention to it: And even more so when they were without the Instruction in Books, and Examples. Carel van Mander, who was a better Author and Speaker than Painter, said in his time that it were commendable, that someone designed an Instruction regarding the composition of Figures, subsequently the Working Selection of Action and the expression of Passions: And he said, I would have been inclined to do so myself, if I had found myself capable of it.

VAN MANDER, Carel

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] There are many things that are occasionally needed by the Art of Painting, that – when one wants them at a specific moment – are not available; {Everything that one needs in the Art of Painting is not always at hand.} indeed not unlike when one needs them very much: It is however true that many can serve her by means of Models and other tools: However, he who wants to observe closely, will understand easily, that the Actions and Passions that are searched and made intentionally by Models, differ very much, from those which we call Naturally occuring and true Actions and Passions:

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] As such the inner fear also causes little clamor, {Internal fear seldom causes great Actions.} but it shows itself most in the Face, that in this case becomes pale and ashen. As the Blood moves quicker than usual to the heart, or possibly stops somehow, or flows slower, it appears that a cold comes over the Limbs, which causes this Deadly color. This [ndr: subject] was not lightly touched upon by Painters since such Passions , as the Histories in which this occurs are common and frequent, or at least could be easily implemented in them. Yet we think that there is nothing more difficult in the Art of Painting, than to do this Naturally and as if it has a real cause. The reason appears to be, as one can rarely see and observe such a thing in Life for a moment, and that Models that one selects for this, only have constructed Passions, that often take off their skirt [ndr: i.e. loose their essence] before one sees them in a scene. One reads about a certain Gonzaga Duke of Mantua, that at one time he instructed to paint the Italian Painter Francisco Monsignori [ndr: Bonsignori] a Sebastian, who was tied very naturally to a Tree, full of Fear and Terror for the Arrow: {How the Duke Gonzaga taught how to paint a fearful Sebastian.} which he did by means of a Worker who served as Monsignori’s Model. Because when the painter had the aforementioned Model tied up naked in his ignorance, the Duke jumped into the room unexpectedly with a dagger, saying: Yes Rascal, now you have to go; I have brought you here for this purpose. You can believe, Reader, that his Blood was truly frightened! and that he imagined that the thrust would soon go through his Heart. Without getting upset Monsignori observed this moment so well, that he delivered his very scared Sebastian as a painting to the Duke.

BONSIGNORI, Francesco, Saint Sebastian, 1470 - 1490, huile sur toile, 143,5 x 59,5, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, SK-A-3991.

BONSIGNORI, Francesco

[translation: BEURS, en préparation, transl. Myra Scholz:] Once they are painted correctly and carefully in this way, they of course still need bloom on them, like the white grapes, and must therefore also be given a sheen and a glaze in the reflection, sometimes with lake, or lake and yellow lake, at other times with only brown yellow lake, depending on what the life situation requires.

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] If you now have designed the sketch in its roughest form, and all the bigger parts are marked in their place, as such one shall observe the object and its sketch, in comparison to each other, with a careful judgement, a little bit in one’s hand, to see if the composition has been satisfactorily placed and if the figures sufficiently do their movement; because if this is not observed correctly in the sketch, one will find such a big and sad work for the moving and improvement of the parts in the composition, that the diligence and desire of the drawing will be lost before one can even show it partially finished. […] In the composition, one should first make sure, that the looseness of the actions that is already in the sketch, does not disappear from it. Which can easily happen, when one does not pay attention through which parts the natural movement and action of the figures are caused.

[The French translator, wrongfully, interpreted the first occurrence of werking in the sense of effect, not of action. [MO]

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] For my conclusion I will discuss some things regarding the four specific manners of the old ancients. The first, strong, potent and robust; it is followed by Michelangelo, Carracci and the entire Bolognese school; which manner actually originated from the city of Athens. The second, weak and feminine, which was observed by Giambologna and many others; which one believes to come from Corinth. The third, full of tenderness and grace; which is thought to be followed by Apelles, Phidias and Praxiteles, which manner is held in very high esteem and is considered to originate from Rhodes. With the fourth, it shows us a great contour, as well as natural, virtuous and correct; being followed by Raphael, Poussin, etc. and originates from Sicyon, a city in the Peloponnesus: actually came to such perfection because the best was selected from each manner and combined.

APELLES
CARRACCI, Annibale
École bolonaise
GIAMBOLOGNA (Jean de Boulogne)
MICHELANGELO (Michelangelo Buonarroti)
PHIDIAS
POUSSIN, Nicolas
PRAXITELES
RAFFAELLO (Raffaello Sanzio)

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] In our last proposition we have proven that the drawing by daylight is the most profitable, because it gives a much softer and uniform shadow and also because the bodies show themselves more naturally in colour and reflection, without hardness; to the contrary the lamp light creates very strong and cut-off shadows and lights.

[D'après DE LAIRESSE, 1787, p. 56:] Il faut d’abord que vous ayez une connoissance approfondie des proportions du corps humain, & des effets de passions, afin que vous sachiez, non-seulement donner à vos figures les attitudes & les mouvemens qui leur conviennent, mais que vous puissez rendre, en même tems, raison de ce qui vous détermine à les représenter de cette manière […]

[D'après DE LAIRESSE 1787, p.57:] Etudiez ensuite le coloris, nons dans l’Espagnolet ou dans le Caravage, mais dans la nature, & donnez à vos chairs toute la vérité possible […]

EL ESPAGÑOLETO (José de Ribera)
LOTH, Johann Carl

In the French edition of 1787, the second artist is wrongfully identfied as Caravaggio, instead of Johann Carl Loth.

[D'après DE LAIRESSE 1787, p.210:] Par la perspective, nous entendons ici l’art de mettre plus ou moins de force dans l’exécution, suivant la manière de celui qui a composé le tableau ; par le coloris, nous voulons dire la beauté des couleurs locales, soit pures soit franches, ou rompues ; & par le maniement du pinceau, il faut comprendre un accord dans le faire des deux coopérateurs. Si, par exemple, le tableau est d’une exécution finie et moëlleuse, les ornements ou les accessoires doivent l’être de même ; est-il exécuté d’une manière facile ou heurtée, que le reste suive ce même faire, afin que tout soit d’accord & dans une parfaite harmonie.

[D'après DE LAIRESSE 1787, p. 250-252:] […] mais une pièce de théâtre diffère d’un tableau, en ce que la première comprend dans chaque acte un fait, un tems & un lieu particuliers; tandis qu’un tableau ne représente qu’une seule action momentanée. […] il y a deux especes de tableaux : des naturels ou vrais, & d’autres qui pechent contre la vérité et la nature. Les premiers sont ceux où l’on ne représente la nature d’un événement [NDR : histoire] ou d’une action que par une seule passion […] Les tableaux de la seconde espèce, sont ceux dans le même personnage se présente plus d’une fois ; où par conséquent il y a complication de sujets […]

[D'après DE LAIRESSE 1787, p. 386:] Dans les tableaux destinés à couvrir les murs des appartemens, c’est le jour ordinaire qui est le plus convenable, du moins si la disposition du local le permet ; car cette lumière est la plus tranquille & la plus agréable lorsqu’elle est rendu de manière naturelle & exacte. Il faut donc sur tout y observer que les figures & les autres objets recoivent une lumière plus large & plus vive, à raison de ce qu’ils sont placés plus près où plus loin de la lumière ; & quoique ces objets soient placés parallèlement, ou sur le même plan, il faut néanmoins qu’ils diffèrent entr’eux par la force des clairs & par la vaguesse des ombres. […]

[D'après DE LAIRESSE 1787, p. 467:] […] un sage peintre doit toujours choisir le tems & l’heure qui conviennent à l’histoire qu’il veut mettre sur la toile. La lumière de cette partie du jour est agréable par les demi-teintes qu’elle produit, parce qu’elle nous présente tous les objets avec les couleurs locales [ndr : litt. naturelles]qui leur sont propres ; de sorte que l’artiste qui observe bien ses convenances ne peut manquer de faire un ouvrage plein de grâce & de verité [ndr : bienséance].

[D'après DE LAIRESSE 1738, p. 290:] […] since some Painters often happen to see different Management with respect to the Rules [ndr : of Art] for painting Halls, Parlours, &c., and therefore cannot resolve on what is most suitable and advantageous for those Apartments ; and when they are to perform something therein, so many Difficulties arise, and their Opinions somuch vary, that they are at a stand whether they shall represent a Picture, or, a Painting in the Manner of Tapestry, or, Nature itself […] The third Sort, viz. to represent Nature, is certainly the best : For, what can be wanting, when the Work is natural, artful and proper to the Place ?