Figure Drawing: An Art Discipline with a Long History

Seeing is all for the artist. The ability to perceive truth and beauty, to believe confidently in that sight in order to comment on it expressively, is essential for making good art. Some artists seem to be born with the gift of seeing, but most follow a training regimen of some description, whether in art school or in an internship with a master artist. Life drawing sessions typically form part of that training. Focusing on the human form allows the artist's eye to become familiar with what is human, with what interests other humans, with what is most beautiful to others, the potential audience. Today, let's consider some artists known for their magnificent figure drawings.

First, there's Michelangelo (1475-1564), the quintessential draftsman of the human form, celebrated for frescoes in the Sistine Chapel and sculptures in Rome and Florence. This artist often made preliminary sketches or studies for major commissions and worked from live models. Not too many of the drawings have survived but those that do are treasured by artists and art lovers all over the world. The Louvre and the British Museum own some fine examples, particularly works in black chalk on small sheets of rag paper. Dramatic poses emphasizing idealized musculature and classic features are a trademark. But some quick gestural studies in pen and ink also survive and may be viewed at Casa Buonarroti, a small museum in Florence.

Another famous artist to consider is Albrecht Durer (1471-1528), a contemporary of Michelangelo and known for his woodcuts as much as for his paintings. Durer described and illustrated his theories on human proportions in several books. The amazing realism of his portraits startles viewers even today. Additionally, almost everyone has come across the iconic image of praying hands, a drawing executed in 1508 in white and black ink on blue-tinted paper. This beautiful work is suggestive of devotion, but without excessive sentimentality. Durer's anatomical studies include drawings from life as well as experiments using block forms and circles and triangles to construct ideal proportions.

Lastly, let's look at sketches by Edgar Degas (1834-1917), the French master whose impressionist paintings of ballet dancers are frequently reproduced. He was a fine draftsman, and the Louvre Museum in Paris holds many of his academically rendered figure studies, mostly done in pencil or charcoal. He frequently made drawings in preparation for portrait commissions, for interiors, for theater and racetrack scenes. His works in pastel often appeared to be left unfinished, a stylistic choice which emphasized his gift for seeing the perfect line or other key element in a work of art. Compositional issues consumed this artist who often made several versions of an image or executed individual figurative studies for multi-figure works, such as those paintings featuring dance rehearsals. Placing the figure precisely in space was clearly of considerable importance for this artist.

There are many other artists of renown who have devoted much time and attention to life drawing, but these three are good examples of the significance and fascination of the discipline. Next time we may consider the interesting efforts of artists as various as Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Rubens, Mary Cassatt, Matisse, Watteau, Eakins, Alice Neel, and Ingres. By the way, life drawing classes featuring live models are available and open to interested artists, whether amateurs or professionals, in most cities and the bigger towns all across the U.S.