Albrecht Dürer's Description of Human Proportion

First, I intend to describe a thick, coarse, peasant man who shall be 7 of his own feet tall. To do this, I draw a straight horizontal line, and upon it, I set straight vertical lines at appropriate distances from one another, each as long as the figure is to be. The first I use to see a man from the side. The second, for a man from the front. The third, for seeing one from behind. When these lines stand parallel, I then first measure the limbs of the man between the top of the head and the soles of the feet; then I extend the length into three upright lines at equal angles. These same lengths of the limbs, written with their numbers and figures, I place outside the figure with straight vertical lines, so that they can be recognized at a glance and the length of the limbs can be easily found. But the principal parts of the horizontal lines shall be these, though slightly more or less: The first height is the crown; the next line below that I call the forehead-line; the next after that, the eyebrows; then the nose; the chin; and further on the shoulder height; the neck height; the chest height; the front armpits; the back armpits original: "Orselen," an archaic term for the armpits; the breasts or nipples; below the breasts in the flank original: "weecke," referring to the soft part of the waist; the navel down to the hips; the end of the hips; the end of the belly; at the pubis original: "Schaemte," literally 'shame,' a common period term for the private parts; the end of the pubis and the buttocks; the opening in the middle of the upper thick part of the leg; then outside on the knee; inside on the knee; middle of the knee; outside below the knee; inside below the knee; and the outer calves; and the inner calves; the height of the joint original: "ghewicht," referring to the ankle joint above the foot and the outer ankles below the shinbone; then finally the soles under the foot.

Such words or names I will place by the vertical lines at their ends, which indicate the length of the limbs, so that such things can be easily understood. This method I shall use throughout the entire book for all figures.

Now I first measure the length of the limbs in this way.

From the crown or
top of the head:
{ to the height of the hollow of the neck: a 1/10 part and a 1/11 part.
{ to the height of the armpits: two 1/11 parts.
{ to the end of the chin: a 1/7 part.

The whorl the vertex or crown on the back of the head stands exactly in the middle between the top and the forehead. From the chin upwards to where the hair begins above the forehead is a 1/10 part. Then I divide the face into 3 equal fields: the uppermost for the forehead; the second for the eyes and nose; the third for the mouth and chin.

                                     { to the height of the chest: a 1/10 part.
                                     { to below the armpits: a 1/13 part.
From the hollow of the neck downwards { to the nipples of the chest: a 1/10 part.
                                     { to below the chest: an 1/8 part.
                                     { to the flank of the sides: two 1/11 parts.

                                     { to the navel: a 1/40 part.
                                     { to the beginning of the hips: a 1/10 part.
From the top of the flank { to the end of the hips: a 1/10 part.
of the sides downwards.       { to the pubis: an 1/8 part.
                                     { to the end of the pubis: a 1/6 part.
                                     { to the end of the buttocks: a 1/10 and 1/11 part.

From the end of the buttocks to the thickness of the leg: an 1/18 part.
From the soles of the feet upwards to below the ankles: a 1/28 part.
But from the soles upwards to the joint: a 1/20 part.