328

Proportions of the leg.

The greatest thickness of the calf of the leg is at a third of its height a b, and is a twentieth part thicker than the greatest thickness of the foot.

a c is half of the head, and equal to d b and to the insertion of the five toes e f. d k diminishes one sixth in the leg g h. g h is 1/3 of the head; m n increases one sixth from a e and is 7/12 of the head, o p is 1/10 less than d k and is 6/17 of the head. a is at half the distance between b q, and is 1/4 of the man. r is half way between s and b[Footnote 11: b is here and later on measured on the right side of the foot as seen by the spectator.]. The concavity of the knee outside r is higher than that inside a. The half of the whole height of the leg from the foot r, is half way between the prominence s and the ground b. v is half way between t and b. The thickness of the thigh seen in front is equal to the greatest width of the face, that is 2/3 of the length from the chin to the top of the head; z r is 5/6 of 7 to v; m n is equal to 7 v and is 1/4 of r b, x y goes 3 times into r b, and into r s.

[Footnote 22-35: The sketch illustrating these lines is on Pl. XIII, No. 2.]

[Footnote 22: a b entra in c f 6 e 6 in c n. Accurate measurement however obliges us to read 7 for 6.] a b goes six times into c f and six times into c n and is equal to g h; i k l m goes 4 times into d f, and 4 times into d n and is 3/7 of the foot; p q r s goes 3 times into d f, and 3 times into b n; [Footnote: 25. y is not to be found on the diagram and x occurs twice; this makes the passage very obscure.] x y is 1/8 of x f and is equal to n q. 3 7 is 1/9 of n f; 4 5 is 1/10 of n f [Footnote: 22-27. Compare with this lines 18-24 of No. 331, and the sketch of a leg in profile Pl. XV.].

I want to know how much a man increases in height by standing on tip-toe and how much p g diminishes by stooping; and how much it increases at n q likewise in bending the foot.

[Footnote 34: e f 4 dal cazo. By reading i for e the sense of this passage is made clear.] e f is four times in the distance between the genitals and the sole of the foot; [Footnote 35: 2 is not to be found in the sketch which renders the passage obscure. The two last lines are plainly legible in the facsimile.] 3 7 is six times from 3 to 2 and is equal to g h and i k.

[Footnote: The drawing of a leg seen in front Pl. XIII, No. 1 belongs to the text from lines 3-21. The measurements in this section should be compared with the text No. 331, lines 1-13, and the sketch of a leg seen in front on Pl. XV.]

Taken from The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci edited by Jean Paul Richter, 1880.

Notebooks of Leonoardo da Vinci
VII: On the Proportions and on the Movements of the Human Figure.
. . .
Preliminary observations.
308,
309
Proportions of the head and face.
310,
311,
312,
313,
314,
315,
316,
317,
318
Proportions of the head seen in front.
319,
320,
321,
322,
323
Relative proportion of the hand and foot.
324
Relative proportions of the foot and of the face.
325,
326,
327
Proportions of the leg.
328,
329,
330,
331
On the central point of the whole body.
332
The relative proportions of the torso and of the whole figure.
333
The relative proportions of the head and of the torso.
334
The relative proportions of the torso and of the leg.
335,
336
The relative proportions of the torso and of the foot.
337
The proportions of the whole figure.
338,
339,
340,
341
The torso from the front and back.
342
Vitruvius’ scheme of proportions.
343
The arm and head.
344
Proportions of the arm.
345,
346,
347,
348
. . .