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Foundations of Visual ArtAUnit V: Introduction to the Canon of Proportion P.1.1 Techniques; P.1.2 Elements; P.1.3 Principles; P.1.4 Intellectual methods

Week 12: Introduction to the human figure; learning and use of a canon of proportion.

I. Take turns reading in groups from Hogarth’s discussion of the canon of proportion.

You may encounter language patterns or terminology that is unfamiliar.

A. Stop frequently to discuss the meaning every couple of sentences. B. The group should reach an agreement as to the gist of the text.

II. Make some notes clarifying your interpretation of each paragraph.

A. In the first paragraph Hogarth lists examples of what a canon of proportion is NOT. 1. Circle the word “terminus.” 2. Note in the margin what is meant by stating that the canon is not a terminus. “Procrustean” = http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/477822/Procrustes

B. In the second paragraph, Hogarth explains what a modern canon IS. 1. From his lists of what should be included in a canon of proportion, circle the three that you think are the most important. 2. Then note in the margin why you feel the three items you selected are crucial to a canon of proportion.

C. In the 3rd paragraph Hogarth follows up on his notion of a modern canon—suggesting that some canons used in the past may be outdated.

Explain, on a separate sheet of paper, how he uses sarcasm in this paragraph to suggest that some past notions about human proportions are outdated.

III. After reading the text by Hogarth and taking notes as directed above, use a separate sheet of paper to answer the following questions—restating each question as part of your answer.

1. Using what you’ve read, tell in your own words what “canon of proportion is. Then explain a reasonable prediction of how you will be asked to use a canon on art class.

2. What units of measure do artists use to measure the proportions of the human figure?

3. How tall is the ideal modern male figure measured in artist’s terms according to Hogarth?

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Hogarth’s Canon of Proportion:

The premise advanced here is a principle of preparation, not a Procrustean Canon of Proportions. It is no absolute; no fixed or rigid determinate, no terminus; even the polestar is not one star but five, the magnetic field wanders from its polar axis, and the sphere we live on is an imperfect oblate mass.

Thus, the contemporary figure proportion for the art student should be an affirmative view of artistic proportion developed from the admiration...of the population as a whole. It should be compounded of nutrition, vitamins, and health. It should take its physical attributes from the fields of hygiene, physiology, and medicine. It should be a figure of endurance, vitality, and vigor. In short, it should be the prototype of the best standards of twentieth century civilization, not the Greek, Roman or Renaissance. The figure proportion which this anatomy advances is, therefore, measured by a standard of eight and three-quarter heads for the length of the figure as the contemporary physical ideal of our time.

If we multiply this proportion with the length of the average mature physical head...this figure will reach a height approximately six-feet four-inches tall—certainly not without its prototypes in modern life today. Consider the contrast using the Greek criterion: multiplying the seven-and-a-half head figure with the head length above, the Greek ideal figure of perfection reaches a towering five feet five inches in adult reality, hardly the height of a high school sophomore today!

Fortunately, the canons of proportion are not irreversible, and the only absolutes which are known to exist lie in their definitions only. For the art student who must experiment, who must behave creatively, this must be reassuring. However, one work of caution: to behave creatively in art means behavior with skill; and skill comes from discipline, not derangement. The artist who knows the rules—and proportion is one of them—knows where to bend and how to break them.