ground？” I said apologetically。
“As Jemalettin of Kazvin wrote in his The Illustration of Horses； one can
properly plete a picture of a horse beginning from its hoof only if he
carries the entire horse in his memory。 Obviously； to render a horse through
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excessive thought and recollection； or even more ridiculous； by repeatedly
looking at a real horse； one would have to move from head to neck and then
neck to body。 I hear there are certain Veian illustrators who are happy to
sell tailors and butchers such pictures of your average street packhorse drawn
indecisively by trial and error。 Such an illustration has nothing whatsoever to
do with the meaning of the world or with the beauty of God’s creation。 But
I’m convinced that even mediocre artists must know a genuine illustration
isn’t drawn according to what the eye sees at any particular moment； but
according to what the hand remembers and is accustomed to。 The painter is
always alone before the page。 Solely for this reason he’s always dependent on
memory。 Now； there’s nothing left for us to do but use the ”courtesan
method‘ to uncover the hidden signature borne by our horse； which has been
drawn from memory through the quick and skillful movement of the hand。
Take a careful look here。“
He was ever so slowly moving the magnifying lens over the spectacular
horse as if he were trying to discover the location of a treasure on an old map
meticulously rendered on calfskin。
“Yes；” I said； like a disciple overe by the pressure to make a quick and
brilliant discovery that