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| Sigmund Lipinsky (1912) |
Some nude drawings are psychological documents; others are engineering diagrams.
Some celebrate the triumph of the flesh while others mourn its mortality.
Some drawings groan of manual labor while others float effortlessly.
Figure drawings can provide a flickering candle for illuminating vistas too delicate to withstand daylight. They can also unleash resentments and rages.
Some celebrate the triumph of the flesh while others mourn its mortality.
Some drawings groan of manual labor while others float effortlessly.
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| Lipinsky's mechanical reference marks contrast with his sensitive drawing to heighten the organic feel of the figure(including the abstract shape in the woman's hand) and block out the negative space in the larger composition. |
Figure drawings can provide a flickering candle for illuminating vistas too delicate to withstand daylight. They can also unleash resentments and rages.
 George Bellows, Boy on a dock (1907). |
Despite the violence of this drawing, there's great sophistication in Bellows' treatment of tendons, bones and muscles.
Ever since our ancestors lost their fur, millions of artists have created hundreds of millions of interpretations of the human form, yet nobody seems to be getting tired of the subject. It remains Topic A: always interesting.
Mapping the human form is indeed the uranography of art. Yet, the vast majority of nude drawings turn out to be little more than scented bilge. (Producing pictures of nude women has consistently provided employment for artists with even the most slender talent.)
As a public service, over the next few days I'm going to share some lesser known examples of figure drawings I believe are admirable.
As a public nuisance, some of those drawings will be accompanied by my own observations.
Ever since our ancestors lost their fur, millions of artists have created hundreds of millions of interpretations of the human form, yet nobody seems to be getting tired of the subject. It remains Topic A: always interesting.
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| Darren Kingsley (circa 2010). Delicate shadings grouped in a self-assured composition. |
Mapping the human form is indeed the uranography of art. Yet, the vast majority of nude drawings turn out to be little more than scented bilge. (Producing pictures of nude women has consistently provided employment for artists with even the most slender talent.)
As a public service, over the next few days I'm going to share some lesser known examples of figure drawings I believe are admirable.
As a public nuisance, some of those drawings will be accompanied by my own observations.
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| Alfred Crimi (circa 1950) |