Four Books on Human Proportion

Firstly, I take for my subject a thick, peasant-like man original: "bewrischen man"; Dürer categorized his models by social type and physical build, often using the "peasant" as a shorthand for a sturdier, shorter proportion (here, seven heads tall) compared to more "noble" or slender figures. who shall be seven of his own heads long. I draw a straight horizontal line original: "zwerchlini" for this purpose, and upon it I place three upright straight lines at the correct distance from one another, each as long as the figure is meant to be. I use the first for the side view of the man, the second for the front view, and the third for the back view. Once these lines stand parallel, I must first determine the length of the man’s limbs original: "glidmaß" between the crown original: "scheitel" and the soles original: "soln". I then mark these lengths across the three upright lines with horizontal lines at right angles. These lengths of the limbs, as they are described with their numbers and ciphers, I set outside the figure with straight vertical lines so that they may be recognized immediately, and so that each length of the limbs can be found quickly. The most important of these horizontal lines will be the following, though sometimes there may be more or fewer. The first height is the crown; the next line below it I call the forehead line; the next after that the eyebrow; then the nose; the chin; and further the height of the shoulder muscles; the height of the pit of the throat; the height of the breast; the front of the ears; the back of the ears; the nipples; under the breasts; in the flanks; in the navel; the top of the hip; the end of the hip; the end of the belly; upon the genitals; the end of the genitals; the end of the buttocks; the indentation in the middle of the upper leg; then the outside above the knee; the inside above the knee; the middle of the knee; the outside below the knee; the inside below the knee; the end of the outer calf; the end of the inner calf; the height of the arch on the foot; the end of the outer ankle on the shinbone; and finally, at the very bottom, the end of the soles.

I will place such words at the ends of the vertical lines that indicate the length of the limbs, so that all this may be easily recognized. I intend to use this method for all the figures throughout this entire little book.

From the crown to

• the height of the pit of the throat: a 10th part and an 11th part. Dürer means 1/10 + 1/11 of the total body height.
• the height of the shoulder: two 11th parts.
• the end of the chin: a 7th part.

The height of the vertex original: "wirbels"; the highest point of the skull. at the back of the head is midway between the crown and the forehead.

From the chin upward to where the hair begins above the forehead is a 10th part; I divide that part into three equal fields: the uppermost for the forehead, the second for the eyes and nose, and the third for the mouth and chin.

From the pit of the throat downward to

• the height of the breast: a 30th part.
• under the armpits: a 13th part.
• the nipples: a 10th part.
• under the breast: an 8th part.
• the flanks: two 11th parts.
• the navel: a 40th part.
• the top of the hip: a 30th part.

From the height of the flanks downward to

• the end of the hip: a 10th part.
• the genitals: an 8th part.
• the end of the same: a 6th part.
• the end of the buttocks: a 10th part and an 11th part.

From the end of the buttocks to the indentation of the leg: an 18th part.
From the soles upward to the bottom of the ankle of the shinbone: a 28th part.
But from the soles upward to the highest point of the instep: a 20th part.

Now that I have measured the body of the figure by its length down to the end of the hip, I will subsequently place the knee joint in its location. This will give the figure three different unequal lengths: namely, the torso from the height of the pit of the throat to the end of the hip is the first and longest; the second, from the end of the hip to the middle of the knee, is shorter; the third, from the middle of the knee to the end of the shinbone, is the shortest of all; for the rear limbs shall