[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] If there is one admirable science in which a reasonable and learned painter should least be found ignorant, he should at least not lack any principle of the Anatomy: because besides the unquestionable use that all the main sciences receive from it, with regards to the general Art of Painting an absolute law that obliges, without any disguise or palliation, all Draughtsmen, Painters, Sculptors, Casters, and those who want to talk wisely about these Artworks; {Anatomy is very useful to the Painters.} to have a profound knowledge of the true Beauty of human figures: and how the balanced Proportion should be applied for the use of body parts; such that they will be moved appropriately in the movement that is necessary for the actions and for the visible expression of the passions. Like the knowledge of the external posture and ligaments of the bones […] We dare to boldly add, that an Artist who finds himself at once lacking and confounded in this, cannot have the smallest base, on which he can claim to be a great master in the Art of Painting, just as he cannot have any capacity to speak judiciously of the posture or true beauty of figures.

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] If there is one admirable science in which a reasonable and learned painter should least be found ignorant, he should at least not lack any principle of the Anatomy: because besides the unquestionable use that all the main sciences receive from it, with regards to the general Art of Painting an absolute law that obliges, without any disguise or palliation, all Draughtsmen, Painters, Sculptors, Casters, and those who want to talk wisely about these Artworks; {Anatomy is very useful to the Painters.} to have a profound knowledge of the true Beauty of human figures: and how the balanced Proportion should be applied for the use of body parts; such that they will be moved appropriately in the movement that is necessary for the actions and for the visible expression of the passions. Like the knowledge of the external posture and ligaments of the bones […] We dare to boldly add, that an Artist who finds himself at once lacking and confounded in this, cannot have the smallest base, on which he can claim to be a great master in the Art of Painting, just as he cannot have any capacity to speak judiciously of the posture or true beauty of figures.

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] If there is one admirable science in which a reasonable and learned painter should least be found ignorant, he should at least not lack any principle of the Anatomy: because besides the unquestionable use that all the main sciences receive from it, with regards to the general Art of Painting an absolute law that obliges, without any disguise or palliation, all Draughtsmen, Painters, Sculptors, Casters, and those who want to talk wisely about these Artworks; {Anatomy is very useful to the Painters.} to have a profound knowledge of the true Beauty of human figures: and how the balanced Proportion should be applied for the use of body parts; such that they will be moved appropriately in the movement that is necessary for the actions and for the visible expression of the passions. Like the knowledge of the external posture and ligaments of the bones […] We dare to boldly add, that an Artist who finds himself at once lacking and confounded in this, cannot have the smallest base, on which he can claim to be a great master in the Art of Painting, just as he cannot have any capacity to speak judiciously of the posture or true beauty of figures.

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] If there is one admirable science in which a reasonable and learned painter should least be found ignorant, he should at least not lack any principle of the Anatomy: because besides the unquestionable use that all the main sciences receive from it, with regards to the general Art of Painting an absolute law that obliges, without any disguise or palliation, all Draughtsmen, Painters, Sculptors, Casters, and those who want to talk wisely about these Artworks; {Anatomy is very useful to the Painters.} to have a profound knowledge of the true Beauty of human figures: and how the balanced Proportion should be applied for the use of body parts; such that they will be moved appropriately in the movement that is necessary for the actions and for the visible expression of the passions. Like the knowledge of the external posture and ligaments of the bones […] We dare to boldly add, that an Artist who finds himself at once lacking and confounded in this, cannot have the smallest base, on which he can claim to be a great master in the Art of Painting, just as he cannot have any capacity to speak judiciously of the posture or true beauty of figures.

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] If there is one admirable science in which a reasonable and learned painter should least be found ignorant, he should at least not lack any principle of the Anatomy: because besides the unquestionable use that all the main sciences receive from it, with regards to the general Art of Painting an absolute law that obliges, without any disguise or palliation, all Draughtsmen, Painters, Sculptors, Casters, and those who want to talk wisely about these Artworks; {Anatomy is very useful to the Painters.} to have a profound knowledge of the true Beauty of human figures: and how the balanced Proportion should be applied for the use of body parts; such that they will be moved appropriately in the movement that is necessary for the actions and for the visible expression of the passions. Like the knowledge of the external posture and ligaments of the bones […] We dare to boldly add, that an Artist who finds himself at once lacking and confounded in this, cannot have the smallest base, on which he can claim to be a great master in the Art of Painting, just as he cannot have any capacity to speak judiciously of the posture or true beauty of figures.

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] When we want to retrace, on what ground and for wat reason the Art of Painting and Sculpting has once been elevated so highly from wisdom amongst the Greek and Romans, we should truly find that it was only the knowledge of Anatomy, which the antique painters and sculptors had carefully connected to the handling of their brush and chisel:

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] When we want to retrace, on what ground and for wat reason the Art of Painting and Sculpting has once been elevated so highly from wisdom amongst the Greek and Romans, we should truly find that it was only the knowledge of Anatomy, which the antique painters and sculptors had carefully connected to the handling of their brush and chisel:

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] As such some [ndr: painters] cannot cope too well that they want to prescribe precise rules to them, to learn to execute all the external and internal parts, in relation to the changing events of human actions and undertakings, yes to the expression of the passions and emotions even; In order for them to not only show painted, but also speaking, moving, working and thinking figures in their Paintings: and especially some of little vision cannot comprehend that one would want to present this from the Anatomy in the sense of the knowledge of dissection.

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] As such some [ndr: painters] cannot cope too well that they want to prescribe precise rules to them, to learn to execute all the external and internal parts, in relation to the changing events of human actions and undertakings, yes to the expression of the passions and emotions even; In order for them to not only show painted, but also speaking, moving, working and thinking figures in their Paintings: and especially some of little vision cannot comprehend that one would want to present this from the Anatomy in the sense of the knowledge of dissection.

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] As such some [ndr: painters] cannot cope too well that they want to prescribe precise rules to them, to learn to execute all the external and internal parts, in relation to the changing events of human actions and undertakings, yes to the expression of the passions and emotions even; In order for them to not only show painted, but also speaking, moving, working and thinking figures in their Paintings: and especially some of little vision cannot comprehend that one would want to present this from the Anatomy in the sense of the knowledge of dissection.

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] As such some [ndr: painters] cannot cope too well that they want to prescribe precise rules to them, to learn to execute all the external and internal parts, in relation to the changing events of human actions and undertakings, yes to the expression of the passions and emotions even; In order for them to not only show painted, but also speaking, moving, working and thinking figures in their Paintings: and especially some of little vision cannot comprehend that one would want to present this from the Anatomy in the sense of the knowledge of dissection.

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] As such some [ndr: painters] cannot cope too well that they want to prescribe precise rules to them, to learn to execute all the external and internal parts, in relation to the changing events of human actions and undertakings, yes to the expression of the passions and emotions even; In order for them to not only show painted, but also speaking, moving, working and thinking figures in their Paintings: and especially some of little vision cannot comprehend that one would want to present this from the Anatomy in the sense of the knowledge of dissection.

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] As such some [ndr: painters] cannot cope too well that they want to prescribe precise rules to them, to learn to execute all the external and internal parts, in relation to the changing events of human actions and undertakings, yes to the expression of the passions and emotions even; In order for them to not only show painted, but also speaking, moving, working and thinking figures in their Paintings: and especially some of little vision cannot comprehend that one would want to present this from the Anatomy in the sense of the knowledge of dissection.

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] As such some [ndr: painters] cannot cope too well that they want to prescribe precise rules to them, to learn to execute all the external and internal parts, in relation to the changing events of human actions and undertakings, yes to the expression of the passions and emotions even; In order for them to not only show painted, but also speaking, moving, working and thinking figures in their Paintings: and especially some of little vision cannot comprehend that one would want to present this from the Anatomy in the sense of the knowledge of dissection.

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] As such some [ndr: painters] cannot cope too well that they want to prescribe precise rules to them, to learn to execute all the external and internal parts, in relation to the changing events of human actions and undertakings, yes to the expression of the passions and emotions even; In order for them to not only show painted, but also speaking, moving, working and thinking figures in their Paintings: and especially some of little vision cannot comprehend that one would want to present this from the Anatomy in the sense of the knowledge of dissection.

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] For this reason, to not scare the shy minds, we would rather throw away the hateful and un-picturesque term Anatomie and prefer to call this useful science with the softer term Menschkunde; although the first term has already become appraised and common amongst the painterly art terms. What the rest is concerned, we answer that, although besides the botchers even some of the famous masters of the previous centuries were not completely void of the aforementioned mistake and sometimes made Nudes in which the muscles are not with a soft doubtful draught nor with a firm fleshiness, nor with plumpness, nor safe relaxation, nor complete tension or obediently working juiciness, but that appear to be cobbled together like blotches and slabs, one should not so much deduct the misguidance of some of those great Minds from the too profound knowledge of muscles, but rather coming from this, that although they walk the righteous path, they have possibly not gone deep enough into it, not having been able to satisfactorily combine their profound knowledge with the gracefulness of life and beauty.

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] For this reason, to not scare the shy minds, we would rather throw away the hateful and un-picturesque term Anatomie and prefer to call this useful science with the softer term Menschkunde; although the first term has already become appraised and common amongst the painterly art terms. What the rest is concerned, we answer that, although besides the botchers even some of the famous masters of the previous centuries were not completely void of the aforementioned mistake and sometimes made Nudes in which the muscles are not with a soft doubtful draught nor with a firm fleshiness, nor with plumpness, nor safe relaxation, nor complete tension or obediently working juiciness, but that appear to be cobbled together like blotches and slabs, one should not so much deduct the misguidance of some of those great Minds from the too profound knowledge of muscles, but rather coming from this, that although they walk the righteous path, they have possibly not gone deep enough into it, not having been able to satisfactorily combine their profound knowledge with the gracefulness of life and beauty.

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] For this reason, to not scare the shy minds, we would rather throw away the hateful and un-picturesque term Anatomie and prefer to call this useful science with the softer term Menschkunde; although the first term has already become appraised and common amongst the painterly art terms. What the rest is concerned, we answer that, although besides the botchers even some of the famous masters of the previous centuries were not completely void of the aforementioned mistake and sometimes made Nudes in which the muscles are not with a soft doubtful draught nor with a firm fleshiness, nor with plumpness, nor safe relaxation, nor complete tension or obediently working juiciness, but that appear to be cobbled together like blotches and slabs, one should not so much deduct the misguidance of some of those great Minds from the too profound knowledge of muscles, but rather coming from this, that although they walk the righteous path, they have possibly not gone deep enough into it, not having been able to satisfactorily combine their profound knowledge with the gracefulness of life and beauty.

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] For this reason, to not scare the shy minds, we would rather throw away the hateful and un-picturesque term Anatomie and prefer to call this useful science with the softer term Menschkunde; although the first term has already become appraised and common amongst the painterly art terms. What the rest is concerned, we answer that, although besides the botchers even some of the famous masters of the previous centuries were not completely void of the aforementioned mistake and sometimes made Nudes in which the muscles are not with a soft doubtful draught nor with a firm fleshiness, nor with plumpness, nor safe relaxation, nor complete tension or obediently working juiciness, but that appear to be cobbled together like blotches and slabs, one should not so much deduct the misguidance of some of those great Minds from the too profound knowledge of muscles, but rather coming from this, that although they walk the righteous path, they have possibly not gone deep enough into it, not having been able to satisfactorily combine their profound knowledge with the gracefulness of life and beauty.

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] For this reason, to not scare the shy minds, we would rather throw away the hateful and un-picturesque term Anatomie and prefer to call this useful science with the softer term Menschkunde; although the first term has already become appraised and common amongst the painterly art terms. What the rest is concerned, we answer that, although besides the botchers even some of the famous masters of the previous centuries were not completely void of the aforementioned mistake and sometimes made Nudes in which the muscles are not with a soft doubtful draught nor with a firm fleshiness, nor with plumpness, nor safe relaxation, nor complete tension or obediently working juiciness, but that appear to be cobbled together like blotches and slabs, one should not so much deduct the misguidance of some of those great Minds from the too profound knowledge of muscles, but rather coming from this, that although they walk the righteous path, they have possibly not gone deep enough into it, not having been able to satisfactorily combine their profound knowledge with the gracefulness of life and beauty.

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] For this reason, to not scare the shy minds, we would rather throw away the hateful and un-picturesque term Anatomie and prefer to call this useful science with the softer term Menschkunde; although the first term has already become appraised and common amongst the painterly art terms. What the rest is concerned, we answer that, although besides the botchers even some of the famous masters of the previous centuries were not completely void of the aforementioned mistake and sometimes made Nudes in which the muscles are not with a soft doubtful draught nor with a firm fleshiness, nor with plumpness, nor safe relaxation, nor complete tension or obediently working juiciness, but that appear to be cobbled together like blotches and slabs, one should not so much deduct the misguidance of some of those great Minds from the too profound knowledge of muscles, but rather coming from this, that although they walk the righteous path, they have possibly not gone deep enough into it, not having been able to satisfactorily combine their profound knowledge with the gracefulness of life and beauty.

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] For this reason, to not scare the shy minds, we would rather throw away the hateful and un-picturesque term Anatomie and prefer to call this useful science with the softer term Menschkunde; although the first term has already become appraised and common amongst the painterly art terms. What the rest is concerned, we answer that, although besides the botchers even some of the famous masters of the previous centuries were not completely void of the aforementioned mistake and sometimes made Nudes in which the muscles are not with a soft doubtful draught nor with a firm fleshiness, nor with plumpness, nor safe relaxation, nor complete tension or obediently working juiciness, but that appear to be cobbled together like blotches and slabs, one should not so much deduct the misguidance of some of those great Minds from the too profound knowledge of muscles, but rather coming from this, that although they walk the righteous path, they have possibly not gone deep enough into it, not having been able to satisfactorily combine their profound knowledge with the gracefulness of life and beauty.

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] For this reason, to not scare the shy minds, we would rather throw away the hateful and un-picturesque term Anatomie and prefer to call this useful science with the softer term Menschkunde; although the first term has already become appraised and common amongst the painterly art terms. What the rest is concerned, we answer that, although besides the botchers even some of the famous masters of the previous centuries were not completely void of the aforementioned mistake and sometimes made Nudes in which the muscles are not with a soft doubtful draught nor with a firm fleshiness, nor with plumpness, nor safe relaxation, nor complete tension or obediently working juiciness, but that appear to be cobbled together like blotches and slabs, one should not so much deduct the misguidance of some of those great Minds from the too profound knowledge of muscles, but rather coming from this, that although they walk the righteous path, they have possibly not gone deep enough into it, not having been able to satisfactorily combine their profound knowledge with the gracefulness of life and beauty.

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] For this reason, to not scare the shy minds, we would rather throw away the hateful and un-picturesque term Anatomie and prefer to call this useful science with the softer term Menschkunde; although the first term has already become appraised and common amongst the painterly art terms. What the rest is concerned, we answer that, although besides the botchers even some of the famous masters of the previous centuries were not completely void of the aforementioned mistake and sometimes made Nudes in which the muscles are not with a soft doubtful draught nor with a firm fleshiness, nor with plumpness, nor safe relaxation, nor complete tension or obediently working juiciness, but that appear to be cobbled together like blotches and slabs, one should not so much deduct the misguidance of some of those great Minds from the too profound knowledge of muscles, but rather coming from this, that although they walk the righteous path, they have possibly not gone deep enough into it, not having been able to satisfactorily combine their profound knowledge with the gracefulness of life and beauty.

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] For this reason, to not scare the shy minds, we would rather throw away the hateful and un-picturesque term Anatomie and prefer to call this useful science with the softer term Menschkunde; although the first term has already become appraised and common amongst the painterly art terms. What the rest is concerned, we answer that, although besides the botchers even some of the famous masters of the previous centuries were not completely void of the aforementioned mistake and sometimes made Nudes in which the muscles are not with a soft doubtful draught nor with a firm fleshiness, nor with plumpness, nor safe relaxation, nor complete tension or obediently working juiciness, but that appear to be cobbled together like blotches and slabs, one should not so much deduct the misguidance of some of those great Minds from the too profound knowledge of muscles, but rather coming from this, that although they walk the righteous path, they have possibly not gone deep enough into it, not having been able to satisfactorily combine their profound knowledge with the gracefulness of life and beauty.

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] And as such it has happened that sometimes Fashions have risen in the Art of Painting, {Fashions in the Art of Painting.} that were almost commonly established: amongst which may be counted the manner of cramped human figures, that one called Sprangers Greepjes. Like one can furthermore discern in the age of idiots of the Art of Painting and the life of famous masters.

SPRANGER, Bartholomeus

Goeree shows an awareness of a development in Painting. In this case he dismisses the exaggerated musculature in the work of Bartholomeus Spranger and his contemporaries, calling this period (Manierism) ‘the age of idiots’. He repeats his dismissal of Spranger’s style on page 249 and has a comparable judgement of Hendrick Goltzius (Hoofdstuk XI, p. 405-406). [MO]

[suggested translation, Marije Osnabrugge:] In the period when some Masters overestimated themselves in the Anatomy and some failed, some have behaved themselves much more modestly, as their works and prints demonstrate. {What some master have done to XX [ndr: illegible] the decayed Anatomy.} People testify that the Florentine Painter Dello was the first under the modern [ndr: artists], who started to portray the muscles with an intelligent judgement according to the actions and movements. Likewise it was said about the painter Rosso that he systematically exhumed the dead and made an Anatomy out of them with great diligence. Certainly, he who, for the general practice and observation of examples, besides the frequent Drawing of Academy-figures, can also find the opportunity to observe the dissection of the dead body of a man, or do such a thing himself in a decent way, he has the means to penetrate the artful invention of the biggest masterpiece of creation with observation, and to bring that which he sees here after life in a dead corpse into the rules of his art.

DELLO (unidentified)
Modernes (Les)
ROSSO FIORENTINO (Giovanni Battista di Jacopo)