DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.20658#0178
DRAPERY.
of many of these potentates. But more relating to this subject will be said when we treat of the
costume.
The general play of the drapery and form of the folds should plainly indicate vvhetherthe figure be
at rest or in action, and if in action whether that action be beginning or ending; whether slow or
quick or violent: if we observe the flow of drapery in natural objects, we shall soon acquirejustideas
of the matter. As we move in a resisting medium the air, which ever way we move the drapery
will flow the other way, more or less, and that in proportion as our motion is quicker or slower ;
as the wind, more or less, counteracts our progress; and as our drapery is, more or less, light and
flowing. In ascending an eminence the drapery is uniformly pressed downwards by the weight of
the superior air; but on the contrary in descending it is supported and extended by a similar re-
sistance. This is no more than what always obtains in nature ; but as this great model cannot
be copied in such transitory situations, the painter must have recourse to the ideal of the art
-which, in this branch as well as in that of design and others, sometimes departs from nature, in
Ol der to correct her appearances : by which means art attains its summit of perfection.
A penurious scantiness and a superfluous redundancy of drapery are equally injurious to the
great style. The figures of some great masters appear as if the artist, through mere poverty, had
grudged them clothing; while others, as Albani said of Guido, perhaps too severely, are rather
taylors than painters. With regard to the ornaments of dress, when too profusely used, the stu-
dent should remember what was once said to an ancient painter:—" I pity you greatly; unable
to make Helen handsome you have taken care to make her fine."
The foregoing rules will be more clearly illustrated by the example of one of the greatest ma-
sters of drapery who undoubtedly excelled all others in that ideal beauty to which this part of
the art is so much indebted.
Raphael imitated at first his master Pietro Perugino's manner of drapery; and he brought
this manner to perfection by studying the works of Masaccio and of Bartholemeo: but he de-
parted entirely from the taste of the school in which he was educated, when he had seen the works
of the ancients. It was the basso relievo of antiquity which pointed out to him the true flowing
of drapery, and he was not backward to introduce it. He discovered, by attending to the prin-
ciples of the ancients, that the nude or the naked is the principal part; that drapery is to be
regarded altogether as an accessory, and that it is intended to cover not to conceal; that it is
employed from necessity not caprice; that of consequence the clothes should not be so narrow-
as to constrain the members, nor so ample as to embarrass them ; but that the artist should adapt
them to the size and attitude of the figures intended to wear them.
He understood that the great folds should be placed at the large places of the body; and
where the nature of the drapery required small folds, that it was necessary to give them a pro-
jection, which indicates a subordination to the principal parts.
He made his ample draperies without useless folds, and with bendings at the articulations. It
was the form of the naked figure which pointed out to him the form of his folds, and on the great
muscles he formed great masses. When any part required to be foreshortened he covered it with
the same number of folds as if it had been straight; but then he crowded them in proportion to
the foreshortenings.
He frequently discovered the border of his drapery, to shew that his figures were not dressed
in a simple sack. The form of the principal parts and the specific weight of the air were always
the causes of his folds. It was easy to discover in his works, by the folds of his drapery, the
attitude
of many of these potentates. But more relating to this subject will be said when we treat of the
costume.
The general play of the drapery and form of the folds should plainly indicate vvhetherthe figure be
at rest or in action, and if in action whether that action be beginning or ending; whether slow or
quick or violent: if we observe the flow of drapery in natural objects, we shall soon acquirejustideas
of the matter. As we move in a resisting medium the air, which ever way we move the drapery
will flow the other way, more or less, and that in proportion as our motion is quicker or slower ;
as the wind, more or less, counteracts our progress; and as our drapery is, more or less, light and
flowing. In ascending an eminence the drapery is uniformly pressed downwards by the weight of
the superior air; but on the contrary in descending it is supported and extended by a similar re-
sistance. This is no more than what always obtains in nature ; but as this great model cannot
be copied in such transitory situations, the painter must have recourse to the ideal of the art
-which, in this branch as well as in that of design and others, sometimes departs from nature, in
Ol der to correct her appearances : by which means art attains its summit of perfection.
A penurious scantiness and a superfluous redundancy of drapery are equally injurious to the
great style. The figures of some great masters appear as if the artist, through mere poverty, had
grudged them clothing; while others, as Albani said of Guido, perhaps too severely, are rather
taylors than painters. With regard to the ornaments of dress, when too profusely used, the stu-
dent should remember what was once said to an ancient painter:—" I pity you greatly; unable
to make Helen handsome you have taken care to make her fine."
The foregoing rules will be more clearly illustrated by the example of one of the greatest ma-
sters of drapery who undoubtedly excelled all others in that ideal beauty to which this part of
the art is so much indebted.
Raphael imitated at first his master Pietro Perugino's manner of drapery; and he brought
this manner to perfection by studying the works of Masaccio and of Bartholemeo: but he de-
parted entirely from the taste of the school in which he was educated, when he had seen the works
of the ancients. It was the basso relievo of antiquity which pointed out to him the true flowing
of drapery, and he was not backward to introduce it. He discovered, by attending to the prin-
ciples of the ancients, that the nude or the naked is the principal part; that drapery is to be
regarded altogether as an accessory, and that it is intended to cover not to conceal; that it is
employed from necessity not caprice; that of consequence the clothes should not be so narrow-
as to constrain the members, nor so ample as to embarrass them ; but that the artist should adapt
them to the size and attitude of the figures intended to wear them.
He understood that the great folds should be placed at the large places of the body; and
where the nature of the drapery required small folds, that it was necessary to give them a pro-
jection, which indicates a subordination to the principal parts.
He made his ample draperies without useless folds, and with bendings at the articulations. It
was the form of the naked figure which pointed out to him the form of his folds, and on the great
muscles he formed great masses. When any part required to be foreshortened he covered it with
the same number of folds as if it had been straight; but then he crowded them in proportion to
the foreshortenings.
He frequently discovered the border of his drapery, to shew that his figures were not dressed
in a simple sack. The form of the principal parts and the specific weight of the air were always
the causes of his folds. It was easy to discover in his works, by the folds of his drapery, the
attitude