Anatomy Lessons from the Great Masters

This classic book, whose foremost author was one of the great artistic anatomy teachers of the twentieth century, is an invaluable instructor and reference guide for any professional, amateur, or student artist who depicts the human form.

Revealing the drawing principles behind one hundred inspiring masterpieces, the book presents work by Leonardo, Michelangelo, Rubens, Raphael, Titian, Rembrandt, and other greats. These superb portrayers of figures knew that the secret of drawing them was seeing how underlying bone and muscle structures mold the body’s surface forms. Readers are shown how to learn from these great examples as the authors guide them through all the steps they would take in a life class or studio working with live models.

Reveals the drawing principles behind 100 inspiring masterpieces by Leonardo, Michelangelo, Rubens and other greats.

This classic book, whose foremost author was one of the great artistic anatomy teachers of the twentieth century, is an invaluable instructor and reference guide for any professional, amateur, or student artist who depicts the human form.

Revealing the drawing principles behind one hundred inspiring masterpieces, the book presents work by Leonardo, Michelangelo, Rubens, Raphael, Titian, Rembrandt, and other greats. These superb portrayers of figures knew that the secret of drawing them was seeing how underlying bone and muscle structures mold the body's surface forms. Readers are shown how to learn from these great examples as the authors guide them through all the steps they would take in a life class or studio working with live models.

KLIATT

This paperback edition of the 1977 book compiled by Terence Coyle is based on lectures given by the well-known drawing instructor Robert Beverly Hale over the course of many years of teaching at the Art Students League of New York. This classic work teaches artistic anatomy by reproducing and analyzing 100 drawings by great drawing masters including Michelangelo, Durer, Rembrandt, and more than 30 others. The drawings are grouped into eight sections, each focusing on a single area of the body: the ribcage, the pelvis and thigh, the knee and lower leg, the foot, the shoulder girdle, the arm, the hand, and the neck and head. Each drawing in the group faces a mapped line drawing keyed to detailed anatomical explanations. While the terminology used on these pages may overwhelm younger students, serious students of figure drawing will find these analytical observations to be extremely useful in advancing their own understanding of the subject. The advantage of using actual drawings in conjunction with the 30 highly detailed anatomical reference plates that follow is twofold: Not only are students presented with images similar to those that would be observed in live models, but they are introduced to three dozen superb artists drawn from nearly five centuries of art history. The book concludes with a detailed index and an extensive list of suggested readings on anatomy and figure drawing. KLIATT Codes: SA—Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2000, Watson-Guptill, 272p. illus. bibliog. index., $19.95. Ages 16 to adult. Reviewer: Rhonda Cooper; Dir., Univ. Art Gallery, Stony Brook, NY , November 2001 (Vol. 35, No. 6)

Robert Beverly Hale was America’s best-known teacher of figure/anatomy drawing during his long years as an instructor at the Art Students League and other fine institutions. The late master also curated American paintings and sculpture for the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Terence Coyle, an artist and respected teacher whose work is exhibited often and included in many notable collections, homes in New York and Stockbridge, Massachusetts.