A Treatise on Painting
by Leonardo da Vinci, translated by John Francis Rigaud
Of the Position of Figures, Plate XIII.
4003547A Treatise on Painting — Of the Position of Figures, Plate XIII.John Francis RigaudLeonardo da Vinci

Chap. LXXXV.Of the Position of Figures, Plate XIII.

In the same proportion as that part of the naked figure marked D A, lessens in height from the shoulder to the hip, on account of its position the opposite side increases. And this is the reason: the figure resting upon one (suppose the left) foot, that foot becomes the centre of all the weight above; and the pit of the neck, formed by the junction of the two Clavicles, quits also its natural situation at the upper extremity of the perpendicular line (which passes through the middle surface of the body), to bend over the same foot; and as this line bends with it, it forces the transverse lines, which are always at right angles, to lower their extremities on that side where the foot rests, as appears in A B C. The navel and middle parts always preserve their natural height.