Ever since I attended my first life drawing class, the life room has represented both inspiration and challenge to me. Looking around my own life drawing class, I am aware that this communal space provides common ground, where professionals and amateur artists alike can come and practice drawing the human form. The history of drawing and painting the nude is a long one and well within western art tradition. Indeed, from the artwork of the ancient Greeks, where the nude figure is often present in sculptures and on pottery, to the Renaissance paintings, artists have long explored and depicted the human figure.
Today, in a contemporary art world full of photography, video and performance, there has been a resurgence of artists wishing to draw and paint the nude, which in turn has elevated this universal and seminal language beyond its previous station as a training tool, to a legitimate means of artistic expression. With this resurgence in artists wishing to engage in drawing and painting the nude, there is a burgeoning presence of un-tutored life drawing classes across the UK, where likeminded people can engage in lively discussions about figure drawing, explore new media, new technology and develop new ways of thinking.
When attending our life drawing class, you will notice that the human body is a creature of action, capable of delicate and dextrous articulation. For this reason, we have been asking our models to draw direct inspiration from famous artist such as Henry Moore and Zdzisław Beksiński into their poses, as this enables them to exhibit a certain kind of physicality in their poses and supports those attending the class to convey majesty and emotion in their drawings. So, in this blog I am going to explore figure drawing by examining the works of Henry Mooore and Zdzisław Beksiński, with an overview of drawing the figure as a connected whole. The aim is not to teach you how to draw, but to give you a point of inspiration from which to explore the human form.
Henry Moore
Taking inspiration from Henry Moore
In our session on March 15th, Danielle took direct inspiration for her poses from the sculptures of Henry Moore, which are renowned for their organic and abstract forms, that often depict the human figure in a simplified and stylized manner. When looking at Moore’s sculptures one of the most notable characteristics of his work is their emphasis on movement and dynamism. Moore's figures often appear to be in motion, with twisting and contorted forms that convey a sense of energy and vitality. Applying this to the life drawing class, Danielle created poses that conveyed a sense of movement and dynamism, by incorporating twisting and turning movements, as well as asymmetrical postures.
When viewing Moore's sculptures, it becomes obvious that there is an emphasis on the human form as a series of interconnected curved planes, where the figures are often composed of a series of rounded and organic shapes, arranged in a harmonious and balanced manner. When creating life drawing poses inspired by Moore's sculptures, Danielle, paid close attention to the overall composition of the pose, this enabled her to create poses that emphasised the curves and planes of the body, and ensured that the various elements of the pose were arranged in a balanced and harmonious way.
Sculptures by Henry Moore
In addition to the emphasis on movement and composition, Moore's sculptures are also notable for their use of negative space, creating a sense of depth and dimensionality to his artwork.
When creating life drawing poses inspired by Moore's sculptures, Danielle paid attention to the negative space surrounding her body, this ensured she was able to create poses that were interesting and dynamic. By focusing on the elements of movement, composition, negative space, and simplification, Danielle’s poses united the skills of observation, expression and understanding in one coherent approach. This in turn supported the artists to create dynamic and expressive drawings that captured the essence of the human figure.
Zdzisław Beksiński
Taking inspiration from Zdzisław Beksiński
Continuing with the theme of taking direct inspiration from known artists, our session on March 29th saw our model, Simon, channel the work of Zdzisław Beksiński in his poses. In recent years there has been increased interest in Beksiński’s work, this is because his art would often focus on creating surreal and dystopian environments in a unique and highly imaginative style that often featured somber scenes of death and decay, with dramatic depictions of distorted faces and deformed bodies. While it is undeniable that his work includes nightmarish imagery, the artist often stated that his work was not inherently dark, claiming that his paintings didn’t have any meaning, and, instead advised viewers to interpret them however they’d like. However, many art critics and historians have inferred that the frightening subject matter of his work describes his experiences living through The Nazi occupation of Poland, the horrors of the Holocaust and the Soviet invasion of Poland.
Because Beksiński's works are known for their highly detailed and imaginative depictions of human figures, Simon sought to exaggerate and distort his poses, this served as a great source of inspiration for the life drawing artists as it enabled them to capture the essence of the human form whilst pushing the boundaries of traditional life drawing techniques.
Moreover, regardless of Beksiński's denial of intentional meaning behind his work, there are elements of seemingly purposeful use of figurative surrealism, especially in the context of his past that supports the idea of art that seeks to comment on social injustice. By using poses inspired by Beksiński's work in our life drawing class, Simon incorporated storytelling elements into his poses. This allowed the artist to identify strategies for illustrating narratives, and using composition and details to convey a story through images. As a result the artists to push the boundaries of traditional life drawing techniques and experiment with new approaches to capturing the human form so that their life drawing images were more engaging and thought-provoking.
BeeCreative Life Drawing in Manchester City Centre
I really appreciate you reading my words, there's no charge, but if you want to offer a little support, click on the button below to buy me a coffee or two!
