The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci (22 page)

[Footnote: See Pl. XVI, No. 1.]

336.

—Top of the chin—hip—the insertion of the middle finger. The end
of the calf of the leg on the inside of the thigh.—The end of the
swelling of the shin bone of the leg. [6] The smallest thickness of
the leg goes 3 times into the thigh seen in front.

[Footnote: See Pl. XVII, No. 2, middle sketch.]

The relative proportions of the torso and of the foot.

337.

The torso
a b
in its thinnest part measures a foot; and from
a
to
b
is 2 feet, which makes two squares to the seat—its thinnest
part goes 3 times into the length, thus making 3 squares.

[Footnote: See Pl, VII, No. 2, the lower sketch.]

The proportions of the whole figure (338-341).

338.

A man when he lies down is reduced to 1/9 of his height.

339.

The opening of the ear, the joint of the shoulder, that of the hip
and the ancle are in perpendicular lines;
a n
is equal to
m o
.

[Footnote: See Pl. XVI, No. 2, the upper sketch.]

340.

From the chin to the roots of the hair is 1/10 of the whole figure.
From the joint of the palm of the hand to the tip of the longest
finger is 1/10. From the chin to the top of the head 1/8; and from
the pit of the stomach to the top of the breast is 1/6, and from the
pit below the breast bone to the top of the head 1/4. From the chin
to the nostrils 1/3 Part of the face, the same from the nostrils to
the brow and from the brow to the roots of the hair, and the foot is
1/6, the elbow 1/4, the width of the shoulders 1/4.

341.

The width of the shoulders is 1/4 of the whole. From the joint of
the shoulder to the hand is 1/3, from the parting of the lips to
below the shoulder-blade is one foot.

The greatest thickness of a man from the breast to the spine is one
8th of his height and is equal to the space between the bottom of
the chin and the top of the head.

The greatest width is at the shoulders and goes 4.

The torso from the front and back.

342.

The width of a man under the arms is the same as at the hips.

A man's width across the hips is equal to the distance from the top
of the hip to the bottom of the buttock, when a man stands equally
balanced on both feet; and there is the same distance from the top
of the hip to the armpit. The waist, or narrower part above the hips
will be half way between the arm pits and the bottom of the buttock.

[Footnote: The lower sketch Pl. XVI, No. 2, is drawn by the side of
line 1.]

Vitruvius' scheme of proportions.

343.

Vitruvius, the architect, says in his work on architecture that the
measurements of the human body are distributed by Nature as follows:
that is that 4 fingers make 1 palm, and 4 palms make 1 foot, 6 palms
make 1 cubit; 4 cubits make a man's height. And 4 cubits make one
pace and 24 palms make a man; and these measures he used in his
buildings. If you open your legs so much as to decrease your height
1/14 and spread and raise your arms till your middle fingers touch
the level of the top of your head you must know that the centre of
the outspread limbs will be in the navel and the space between the
legs will be an equilateral triangle.

The length of a man's outspread arms is equal to his height.

From the roots of the hair to the bottom of the chin is the tenth of
a man's height; from the bottom of the chin to the top of his head
is one eighth of his height; from the top of the breast to the top
of his head will be one sixth of a man. From the top of the breast
to the roots of the hair will be the seventh part of the whole man.
From the nipples to the top of the head will be the fourth part of a
man. The greatest width of the shoulders contains in itself the
fourth part of the man. From the elbow to the tip of the hand will
be the fifth part of a man; and from the elbow to the angle of the
armpit will be the eighth part of the man. The whole hand will be
the tenth part of the man; the beginning of the genitals marks the
middle of the man. The foot is the seventh part of the man. From the
sole of the foot to below the knee will be the fourth part of the
man. From below the knee to the beginning of the genitals will be
the fourth part of the man. The distance from the bottom of the chin
to the nose and from the roots of the hair to the eyebrows is, in
each case the same, and like the ear, a third of the face.

[Footnote: See Pl. XVIII. The original leaf is 21 centimetres wide
and 33 1/2 long. At the ends of the scale below the figure are
written the words
diti
(fingers) and
palmi
(palms). The passage
quoted from Vitruvius is Book III, Cap. 1, and Leonardo's drawing is
given in the editions of Vitruvius by FRA GIOCONDO (Venezia 1511,
fol., Firenze 1513, 8vo.) and by CESARIANO (Como 1521).]

The arm and head.

344.

From
b
to
a
is one head, as well as from
c
to
a
and this
happens when the elbow forms a right angle.

[Footnote: See Pl. XLI, No. 1.]

Proportions of the arm (345-349).

345.

From the tip of the longest finger of the hand to the shoulder joint
is four hands or, if you will, four faces.

a b c
are equal and each interval is 2 heads.

[Footnote: Lines 1-3 are given on Pl. XV below the front view of the
leg; lines 4 and 5 are below again, on the left side. The lettering
refers to the bent arm near the text.]

346.

The hand from the longest finger to the wrist joint goes 4 times
from the tip of the longest finger to the shoulder joint.

347.

a b c
are equal to each other and to the foot and to the space
between the nipple and the navel
d e
will be the third part of the
whole man.

f g
is the fourth part of a man and is equal to
g h
and measures
a cubit.

[Footnote: See Pl. XIX, No. 1. 1.
mamolino
(=
bambino
, little
child) may mean here the navel.]

348.

a b
goes 4 times into
a c
and 9 into
a m
. The greatest
thickness of the arm between the elbow and the hand goes 6 times
into
a m
and is equal to
r f
. The greatest thickness of the arm
between the shoulder and the elbow goes 4 times into
c m
, and is
equal to
h n g
. The smallest thickness of the arm above the elbow
x y
is not the base of a square, but is equal to half the space
h
3 which is found between the inner joint of the arm and the
wrist joint.

[11]The width of the wrist goes 12 times into the whole arm; that is
from the tip of the fingers to the shoulder joint; that is 3 times
into the hand and 9 into the arm.

The arm when bent is 4 heads.

The arm from the shoulder to the elbow in bending increases in
length, that is in the length from the shoulder to the elbow, and
this increase is equal to the thickness of the arm at the wrist when
seen in profile. And the space between the bottom of the chin and
the parting of the lips, is equal to the thickness of the 2 middle
fingers, and to the width of the mouth and to the space between the
roots of the hair on the forehead and the top of the head [Footnote:
Queste cose
. This passage seems to have been written on purpose to
rectify the foregoing lines. The error is explained by the
accompanying sketch of the bones of the arm.]. All these distances
are equal to each other, but they are not equal to the
above-mentioned increase in the arm.

The arm between the elbow and wrist never increases by being bent or
extended.

The arm, from the shoulder to the inner joint when extended.

When the arm is extended,
p n
is equal to
n a
. And when it is
bent
n a
diminishes 1/6 of its length and
p n
does the same. The
outer elbow joint increases 1/7 when bent; and thus by being bent it
increases to the length of 2 heads. And on the inner side, by
bending, it is found that whereas the arm from where it joins the
side to the wrist, was 2 heads and a half, in bending it loses the
half head and measures only two: one from the [shoulder] joint to
the end [by the elbow], and the other to the hand.

The arm when folded will measure 2 faces up to the shoulder from the
elbow and 2 from the elbow to the insertion of the four fingers on
the palm of the hand. The length from the base of the fingers to the
elbow never alters in any position of the arm.

If the arm is extended it decreases by 1/3 of the length between
b
and
h
; and if—being extended—it is bent, it will increase the
half of
o e
. [Footnote 59-61: The figure sketched in the margin is
however drawn to different proportions.] The length from the
shoulder to the elbow is the same as from the base of the thumb,
inside, to the elbow
a b c
.

[Footnote 62-64: The arm sketch on the margin of the MS. is
identically the same as that given below on Pl. XX which may
therefore be referred to in this place. In line 62 we read therefore
z c
for
m n
.] The smallest thickness of the arm in profile
z c
goes 6 times between the knuckles of the hand and the dimple of the
elbow when extended and 14 times in the whole arm and 42 in the
whole man [64]. The greatest thickness of the arm in profile is
equal to the greatest thickness of the arm in front; but the first
is placed at a third of the arm from the shoulder joint to the elbow
and the other at a third from the elbow towards the hand.

[Footnote: Compare Pl. XVII. Lines 1-10 and 11-15 are written in two
columns below the extended arm, and at the tips of the fingers we
find the words:
fine d'unghie
(ends of the nails). Part of the
text—lines 22 to 25—is visible by the side of the sketches on Pl.
XXXV, No. 1.]

349.

From the top of the shoulder to the point of the elbow is as far as
from that point to the joints of the four fingers with the palm of
the hand, and each is 2 faces.

[5]
a e
is equal to the palm of the hand,
r f
and
o g
are equal
to half a head and each goes 4 times into
a b
and
b c
. From
c
to
m
is 1/2 a head;
m n
is 1/3 of a head and goes 6 times into
c b
and into
b a
;
a b
loses 1/7 of its length when the arm is
extended;
c b
never alters;
o
will always be the middle point
between
a
and
s
.

y l
is the fleshy part of the arm and measures one head; and when
the arm is bent this shrinks 2/5 of its length;
o a
in bending
loses 1/6 and so does
o r
.

a b
is 1/7 of
r c
.
f s
will be 1/8 of
r c
, and each of those
2 measurements is the largest of the arm;
k h
is the thinnest part
between the shoulder and the elbow and it is 1/8 of the whole arm
r
c
;
o p
is 1/5 of
r l
;
c z
goes 13 times into
r c
.

[Footnote: See Pl. XX where the text is also seen from lines 5-23.]

The movement of the arm (350-354).

350.

In the innermost bend of the joints of every limb the reliefs are
converted into a hollow, and likewise every hollow of the innermost
bends becomes a convexity when the limb is straightened to the
utmost. And in this very great mistakes are often made by those who
have insufficient knowledge and trust to their own invention and do
not have recourse to the imitation of nature; and these variations
occur more in the middle of the sides than in front, and more at the
back than at the sides.

351.

When the arm is bent at an angle at the elbow, it will produce some
angle; the more acute the angle is, the more will the muscles within
the bend be shortened; while the muscles outside will become of
greater length than before. As is shown in the example;
d c e
will
shrink considerably; and
b n
will be much extended.

[Footnote: See Pl. XIX, No. 2.]

352.

The arm, as it turns, thrusts back its shoulder towards the middle
of the back.

353.

The principal movements of the hand are 10; that is forwards,
backwards, to right and to left, in a circular motion, up or down,
to close and to open, and to spread the fingers or to press them
together.

354.

The movements of the fingers principally consist in extending and
bending them. This extension and bending vary in manner; that is,
sometimes they bend altogether at the first joint; sometimes they
bend, or extend, half way, at the 2nd joint; and sometimes they bend
in their whole length and in all the three joints at once. If the 2
first joints are hindered from bending, then the 3rd joint can be
bent with greater ease than before; it can never bend of itself, if
the other joints are free, unless all three joints are bent. Besides
all these movements there are 4 other principal motions of which 2
are up and down, the two others from side to side; and each of these
is effected by a single tendon. From these there follow an infinite
number of other movements always effected by two tendons; one tendon
ceasing to act, the other takes up the movement. The tendons are
made thick inside the fingers and thin outside; and the tendons
inside are attached to every joint but outside they are not.

[Footnote 26: This head line has, in the original, no text to
follow.] Of the strength [and effect] of the 3 tendons inside the
fingers at the 3 joints.