The importance of the study of anatomy to the figure artist
type: CreativeWork
description: Anatomy is of little use to the student if he has not grasped how to draw form, but it helps him to invent form. Without an understanding of how to invent, we can only make flat plans of the anatomy inside the outline; but once the drawing of bones and structure has been understood, all the anatomy that the student knows may be to his advantage. An artist must know as much science as he can use. If he knows more, there is a chance that sciences will use him. It is the structure of the body he must grasp and the way anatomy works. Knowing the parts by name is merely a convenience. If we can master Figure Drawing, even to a limited extent, we shall be well prepared to draw anything, and of all things in nature we are most critical of the human body round which there are gathered the deepest associations of idealism and instinct. However, the ideal in Art and in Nature is best understood as a standard from which to deviate, rather than as a scheme to impose on form. Rules are made to be broke, but they cannot be broken until they are understood. The creative force is given to few, but each one of us, layman or artist, cherishes a spark that may - who knows - start in another artist a conflagration. Then whether the work produced the trivial or profound, the student of "Life" may give thanks that he pursues an ageless quest of inexhaustible allure,
abstract: Anatomy is of little use to the student if he has not grasped how to draw form, but it helps him to invent form. Without an understanding of how to invent, we can only make flat plans of the anatomy inside the outline; but once the drawing of bones and structure has been understood, all the anatomy that the student knows may be to his advantage. An artist must know as much science as he can use. If he knows more, there is a chance that sciences will use him. It is the structure of the body he must grasp and the way anatomy works. Knowing the parts by name is merely a convenience. If we can master Figure Drawing, even to a limited extent, we shall be well prepared to draw anything, and of all things in nature we are most critical of the human body round which there are gathered the deepest associations of idealism and instinct. However, the ideal in Art and in Nature is best understood as a standard from which to deviate, rather than as a scheme to impose on form. Rules are made to be broke, but they cannot be broken until they are understood. The creative force is given to few, but each one of us, layman or artist, cherishes a spark that may - who knows - start in another artist a conflagration. Then whether the work produced the trivial or profound, the student of "Life" may give thanks that he pursues an ageless quest of inexhaustible allure,
author: Young, Dorothy
keywords: Anatomy, Artistic, Human figure in art, Art and Design, Art Practice, Arts and Humanities
license: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/
date published: 1937-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:36:58Z
provider: University of the Pacific
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of the Pacific