OF THE WAY TO DRAW FIGURES FOR HISTORICAL PICTURES.

The painter must always study on the wall on which he is to picture
a story the height of the position where he wishes to arrange his
figures; and when drawing his studies for them from nature he must
place himself with his eye as much below the object he is drawing
as, in the picture, it will have to be above the eye of the
spectator. Otherwise the work will look wrong.

The apparent size of figures in a picture (538-539)