A Treatise on Painting/Chapter 127

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A Treatise on Painting
by Leonardo da Vinci, translated by John Francis Rigaud
Disproportion to be avoided, even in the accessory Parts
4005786A Treatise on Painting — Disproportion to be avoided, even in the accessory PartsJohn Francis RigaudLeonardo da Vinci

Chap. CXXVII.Disproportion to be avoided, even in the accessory Parts.

A great fault is committed by many painters, which is highly to be blamed, that is, to represent the habitations of men, and other parts of their compositions, so low, that the doors do not reach as high as the knees of their inhabitants, though, according to their situation, they are nearer to the eye of the spectator, than the men who seem willing to enter them. I have seen some pictures with porticos, supported by columns loaded with figures; one grasping a column against which it leans, as if it were a walking-stick, and other similar errors, which are to be avoided with the greatest care.