You are on page 1of 172

T H E H U M AN

FI GU RE
By JO H N H . V AN D E R PO E L
I n t ruc t o r i n D r
s aw i ng an d
Pa i n t i n g. L e c t ure r o n t he
D ra w i n g a n d C o n s t ruc t i o n
o f t he H u m a n F i g ure A r t
,

I n s t i t ut e o f C hi c a g o

FO U RT H E DI T I O N

CHI C A G O
T HE IN L A N D P R IN T E R CO M P A N Y
19 1 1
ns n x c u nn TO

W . M . R . F R E N CH ,

TO W H OS E CO N S T A NT E N CO U RAGE M E NT r m'

A UT H OR I S D E E PL Y I ND E BT E D .
P LA T E I . P E NC I L D RA W I N G O F F E M ALE FI G U RE .

BY J . H . V AN DE R P O E L .
D RA W I N G T H E H U M A N
F I GU R E
1 UCCE S S F UL L Y to bu ild u p the human figu re
in a drawing painting or statu e either from
, ,

imagination or from a m odel the artist or sculp ,

tor must be p ossessed of a keen sense of construe


tion .

The human body with its varied beauty o f


,

const ruction character and action i s so comp lex


, ,

that it is essential for the stu dent artist and ,

sculptor n ot only to have a clear knowledge of i t s


intricate forms but a comprehens ive understand
,

ing and a habit of s imple treatment in order to


apply this kno w ledge to its artistic end .

Th e arti st i s immed iately concerned with the


external and the apparent H e v iews natu re as .

color tone textu re and l ight and shade but back


, , ,

of h is immed iate concern whether h e b e fi gure ,

p ainter or illu strator in order t o render the,

human form with success h e stands in need of ,

skill in the use of his knowledge of structu re of ,

hi s u nderstanding of action and of his insight into


character The se thin g s requ ire a p eriod of pro
.

fou nd academic study .

When we cons ider th e infinite variety of a c


tion of the hu man form its suppleness grace and , ,

strength of movement i n the express ion of the


fleeting action and farther consider that the sur
,

face o f the body i s enveloped in eff ects o f light


and shade iridescent color and del icate tone it is
, ,


not to be wondered at that the student s eye is
readily blinded to the hidden construction of the
form .


A t this stage of the student s advancement a
carefu l stu dy of artistic anatomy as elucidated ,

by R ichter Marshall or D uval famil iarizing him


, ,

with the bony stru cture of th e skeleton and the ,


T HE HU MAN F I GUR E .
D RA W I N G T H E H U MA N F I GU R E .

location atta c hment and fu nction of the mu scles


, ,

will not only be helpful in fu rthering his own


research but will enable h im the more readily to
,

understand the theory of constructio n o f the


human body as p resented in this book .

The theory of construction of the hu man figure


here p resented is based on the p ictorial means
u su al in the exp ress ion of the sol id that is the , ,

exp ression of the three d imens ions length ,

breadth and thickness b y means of planes -


In .

the s imple drawing the bou ndaries o f these planes


may be indicated by l ines of varying weight an d ,

i n a tone drawin g by the varying depth of the


values It is the d iscovery or search for the rela
.

tive p os ition character and valu e of these planes


,

that will engross o ur attention in the ensu ing


chapters .

In the making of a thoro u gh drawing of the


human body involving a su stained e ffort on the
,

p art of the student whether in l ine l ight an d


, ,

shade o r tone the student g oes throu gh two


, ,

stages of mental activity ' first the p eriod of ,

research i n which h e analyzes the figu re in all the


,

large qu alities of character action and construe ,

tion. In this analysis he acqu ires a n intimacy


with the vital facts and this leads as the work
, ,

p rogresses to a p rofou nd convictio n When thu s


, .

impressed the student enters upon the second


p eriod which deals with the representation of the
,

effect dependent up on light and shade Impressed .

with the facts i n regard to the character of the


model understand ing the action and construction
, ,

his app reciation enhanced b y research h is l ines ,

become firm and assertive .

I n the first p eriod the student s min d is em ’

grossed with the search for the relative place the


p art shal l occupy in conveying the impression of
the whole ' havin g secu red the p os ition of the
p art the second p eriod is occup ied in turnin g the
,

place for the p art into its actu al form .

’ ’
The artist s or illustrator s final obj ective is
the p ictorial and he u ses any and all technical
,

means and mediums to that end H e stud ies the .


TH E H U MA N F I GU R E .
D RA W I N G T H E H U MA N F I G U R E .
9

c rie s of col o r p erspective effect of l ight and


, ,

shade values tone and compos ition ' all may be


, , ,

stud ied sep arately and exhaustively so that he


may learn the full import of each — so too the , ,

matter of form should be studied for its ow n sake .


E very stroke of the artist s bru sh should p rove
his understanding of the form of the subj ect
matter dep icted ' this includes insight into the
character of the model understanding of his a o ,

tion and how the form is p ut together


, .

A figu re p osed in a full l ight with its multi ,

tu d i n ous variety of high lights half tones and ,


-

shadowed accents does not disclose its structural


,

natu re to the u nin itiated stu dent ' it does not


ap peal to him as h e stands dazed b efore it for ,

there is so little of shadow to go out from P ref .

er a bl y he chooses a p osition where the eff ect of

light and shad e is strong not becau se the con ,

stru ction is more evident for the figu re may have ,

been p osed only incidentally t o that end but b e ,

cau se the strong eff ect app eals to h im for h is work


with black charcoal upon wh ite p ap er In order .

that the stu dent may the m ore read ily u nderstand
the construction of the figu re as analyzed in the ,

accomp anying drawings its parts and the whole ,

have been so l ighted as to show through th e ,

effects p roduced the sep aration of the planes that


,

mark the breadth front o r back of the form from


, ,

its thickness In thi s illum ination the great masses


.

o r planes that m ark th e b readth relative to thick

ne ss of the human form are made plainly visible .

S u ch illum ination d ivides the p lanes that envelop


the body into great masses o f form which upon
analys is d isclose its structural formation .

The stu dent mu st learn early to form a vivid


mental p i cture of h is model and the first p eriod ,

o f the development of h is drawing is but a means

to enhance th is mental p ictu re through p rofound


research . Th is mental p ictu re mu st include the
figu re in its ent irety so that no matter what ,

m inor form the eye may be attracted to or what


line the hand may trace up on the p ap er the na ,
TH E H U M A N F I G UR E .
D RA W I N G T H E H U MA N F I G U R E .
11

ture of th e relationship of the part to the whole


may first be establ ished .

A n exhau stive l ine drawing made upon con


structive p rinciples includ ing u nderstood action
,

and stron g characterization will give added qual ,

ity to the t o ne and light and shade Of the student s ’

work It m ight well be suggested i n the develop


.


ment o f the stu dent s skill as a draftsman that
he vary the means according to the end requ ired .

B esides th e outline drawing su ggested above he ,

might venture into tone by smudging the p aper


with a valu e Of charcoal and remo v in g it for the
masses Of light with the fingers or kneaded rub
ber A gain a p eriod may be sp ent in swinging in
.

the action p roportions and constru ction o f the fi g


, ,

ure wit h long l ines and also in m aking qu ick ten


,

or fifteen minute sketches These efforts in c on


.

n ec t i on with su stained work requ iring a number

o f d ays for completion wh ich means th e carrying


,

forward Of a drawing from the blocking i n stage -

to the complete effort including tone are com


, ,

mended to stude n ts .

Great skill i n draftsmansh ip is highly desir


a b le but the stud ent shou ld be warned n ot to give
,

it his sole attention for too lon g a p eriod He .

should test his skill and knowledge by memory


drawing and by applying them to compositi o n .

CH I CAGO I LL , June , 1 9 0 7 .
THE H U MAN F I GU RE .
CO N T E N T S

D e d i c ati on
D rawi ng th e H uma n F i gure — A uth o r ’
s P refa c e an d

A d v i c e t o the S tu d en t

C HAP T E R I .

Th e E y e s

C HAP T E R I I .

Th e No s e
S tu d e n t s N o te s

C H AP T E R I I I .

Th e Mo uth a nd C h i n
S tu d e n t s No te s

CHA P T E R I V .

The E ar

CHAP T E R V .

The H ea d
S tu d en t s No te s

CH AP T E R V I .

Th e B on y S t ru c ture o f t he Tru nk
S tu d en t s N o te s

C HAP T E R V I I .

Th e S tu d y o f th e T ru nk .

C HAP T E R V I I I .

T ru nk F r on t a n d B a ck
S tu d en t s No te s

CHA P T E R I X .

T ru n k —B a c k a nd H i p s . 89
S tu d e n t s No te s

92 , 9 3, 94, 9 5 , 9 6 , 9 7 , 9 8
14 CONTENTS .

P A GE
C HAP T E R X .

N e c k T h r o a t a n d S h o u l d er s
, 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

S tu d en t s N o te s

C H AP T E R X I .

T he S h o ul d er s a n d C he st 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

C HAP T E R X I I .

Th e S h o u l d er a nd A rm 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

S tu d en t s No te s

C H AP T E R X I I I .

The A rm W ri st a n d Ha nd
, .

C HAP T E R X I V .

Th e Ha nd a n d W ri st 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

S tu d en t s No te s

C H AP T E R X V .

The L eg
S tu d e n t s No te s

1 33, 1 34,

CH AP T E R X V I .

The Foo t
S tu d e n t s No tes

1 3 9, 1 40,

C HAP T E R X V I I .

T he F i gure a s a W h o le .

S tu d en t s No te s

1 5 0 , 1 5 1 , 1 52 , 1 5 3 ,
16 I LL U S T RA T I O N S .

P A GE
P LA TE XX —T hree ' uarter V i ew ' B on e s o f T ru nk
a n d D ime n si on s —O utli n e a nd S ha d i ng
-

P LA TE XX I — T hree— ' uarter Vi ew ' B on e s o f Tru n k


a n d D imen si on s — O utli n e a n d S ha d i n g
PLAT E XX I I S ec ti on s M al e
P LA T E XX I I I S e c ti on s F emale
PLA TE X XI V C on stru c ti on of S h o u ld er s F r on t
a nd B a ck
PLA TE X X V C on st ru c ti on o f T o r se F r on t a nd
B a ck

P LA T E XX V I —C on stru c ti on o f N e c k
P L A TE XX V I I —C on stru c ti on o f N e c k
P LA TE X X V I I I — C on stru c ti on o f N e ck a nd S h o ul d er s 1 06

P LA TE XXI X C on stru c ti on o f A rm
P LA T E XXX —C on stru c ti on o f A rm
P LATE XXX I —C on stru c ti on o f A rm a n d Ha nd
PLA TE XXX I I —C on stru c ti on o f H a n d
PLAT E XXX I I I — C on stru c ti on o f L eg

PL A T E XXX I V —C on stru c ti on o f L eg a n d Foo t


P LA T E XXX V —C on stru c ti on o f Foo t .

P LA TE XXX V I —C har co a l D rawi n g o f F ema l e F i g


ure by J H Va nd er po el
, . .

P LA TE XXX V I I —C h ar co a l D rawi n g o f M a l e T o r se ,

S h o wi n g W e dg e Fo rmati on by J H V a n d er po e l , . . . 1 45

P LA T E XXX V II I —Char co a l D rawi n g o f F ema l e


T o r se S e p arati ng F r on t fr o m S i d e T hr o u g h
,

S tron g L i g ht a n d S ha d e by J H V a nd er po e l
, . . .

PLA T E XXX I X —Char co a l D rawi n g o f F ema l e T o r se ,

S h o wi n g W e d g e Fo rmati on a n d S u ppo rti n g B ut


tre ss by J H Va nd er po e l
, . .

P LA TE X L —T on e D rawi ng i n Char co a l o f F ema l e


F i g ure by J H Va nd er po el
,
. .

P LA TE X L I —Char co a l D rawi n g o f F ema l e F i g u re ,

fro m L ife by N ed Ha d le y
,
.

P LA TE X L I I —Char co a l D rawi n g o f M a l e F i gu re ,

fr o m L i fe b y Eli z a b eth L a n e
,
.
I LL U S T RA T I O N S .

P LA TE X L I I I — Ch ar co a l D raw i ng o f M al e F i gure ,

fr o m L i fe by Emi l A J o h n son
, .

P LA TE X L I V —Char co al D raw i ng o f M al e F i g ure ,

fr o m L ife b y N P W S wa n son
, . . .

P LATE X L V —C har co a l D rawi ng o f F emale F i gure


fr o m L ife b y B elle S il v e i ra
,

P LA TE X L V I — C har co al D rawi ng o f F emale T o r se ,

fr o m L i fe b y L o u i se P errett
,

P LA TE X L V I I — Oi l S tu d y o f M ale T o r se fr o m L i fe
, ,

by P er c y B ewl ey
P LA TE X L V I II — P e nc i l D rawi ng o f F emal e T o r se ,

S h o wi n g F r on t o f W e dg e a n d B uttre ss i n S ha do w ,

by J H Va n d er po el
. .

P LA TE X L I X P e nc i l D rawi ng o f R ecl i n i ng F i gu re s ,

b y J H Va nd er po el
. .

P LA TE S L L I L I I L I I I L I V — Ch ar co al D rawi ng s
, , ,

f o r M ura l P a i n ti n g Th e V i n ta g e F e sti v al b y
, ,
'

J H V a nd er po e l
. . . 1 64 1 65 1 66 1 67
, , , ,
1 68
T H E H U M A N FI G U R E

CH AP T E R I .

T H E EYE S .

E F OR E taking up the stu dy Of the planes


which form the structural solidity Of the
head the featu res a nd their environment may
,

well be analyzed separately H owever the stu


.
,

dent mu st fully realize that n o m atter how inti


mate his knowledge Of a p art may be it i s only o f ,

valu e when it coexists with an appreciation of its


relation to th e entire structure .

The eye or any p art o f the human figure n o


, ,

matter how well understood mu st to be of any


, ,

value t o the whole be truly placed and bear a tru e


,

relation t o the larger planes A c hild in all inno


.

cence may draw a mouth nose and eyes and su r


, ,

rou nd them with a circle thinkin g he has drawn


,

a head but a mere collection of featu res u


,
n st ruc ,

tur a l l y related does not make a head


, A degree .

Of knowledge of the inner construction of a p art is

absolutely essential but this k n owl ed g e becomes


,

significant only as its eff ect on the external form


is made manifest in truthful relation to Other
parts .

The eyeballs enveloped by the lids protrud e


partially from their bony orbits The p lane of .

the orbits or sockets l pes inward from the


frontal bone as it descends m aking a decided ,

angle with the p lane of the forehead and cheek ,

giving the effect o f the forehead being a step in


advance Of th e p lane of the cheek The sockets .

are somewhat rectangular in form and de scend ,

slightly from the nose outward ' this drooping


effect in t he skull is c o unteracted in the l iving
T H E H U MA N F I G U R E .

m o del by the eyebrows as they rise from their


origin to the outs ide Of the socket .

F rom this orbit or concavity the convex or ,

Sp herical form Of the eyeball with its envelop ing ,

l ids p resses outward but rarely extends suffi


, ,

c i en tl y to distu rb the i n ward slop e Of the p lane in

wh ich it is containe d .

O p en or closed every p art o f the eye and its


, ,

immediate surrou nd ings tends to the preserva ,

tion Of this p lane ' the eyebrow protrudes beyond


the orbicular mu scle below it which i n tu rn over ,

hangs the upp er lid ' the upp er l id in virtu e of its ,

thickness p roj ects from the cornea the exposed


, ,

p ortion Of which s lopes slightly downward and ,

this slop e i s greatly increased when the eye looks


downward ' the lower l id thinner than the u pper , ,

terminates the orb ital p lane in its contact with


the cheek 'N ote s ection of p rofile as well as
.

comp lete drawing P late I I I , .

A p lane formed not u nlike a keystone facin g ,

slightly downward and s imilar in d irection to the


orb ital plane desce n ds from the center of the
,

frontal b o ne connecting the forehead with the


,

nose and sep arating the eye sockets .

The eyebrows originate at the sides of this


keystone and together mark the lower boundary
,

of the plane of the forehead R is ing in p art from .


,

u nderneath the frontal bon e and where it is


heaviest the eyebrow travels outward and a trifle
,

upward . d iminishing i n width u ntil at the


,

approach o f the temple it tu rns upon the outs ide


of the bone following the arch along the temporal
,

border of the orbit t o its term ination In d esc ri b .

ing the arch Of the orb it the eyebrow makes a


half tu r n upo n itself like a sp iral cu rve 'N ote .

e ffect of same in v iews as illu strated in P late I I I ) .

H aving stud ied the orb ital plane and the man
ner in which it affects its contents the eye itself ,

may be further cons idered D irectly b elow the .

eyebr o w from the p oint where it turns t o the


,

outer surface of the bone is fou nd the orbicular ,

muscle filling the space between the eyebrow and


,

the upp er eyelid leaving the inner p ortion o f the


,
TH E E Y E .

orbit depressed This i s indi c ated by a triangular


.

shap e Of shadow on each s ide of the j unction with


the nose when the head i s fairly li g hted from
,

above 'F ig 1 P late I V )


. .
, .

B elow these retreating forms that i s below , ,

the deep bony d ep ression j u st above the inner cor


ner of the eye and the convex mu scle immed iately
above it the eyeball enveloped by the l ids p resses
, , ,

slightly forward The eyeballs being considerably


.

smaller than the cup from which they p rotrude ,

cau se the corners of the eye to set well within the


border of the orb it so that the outer corner is
,

found stepl ike well inside the plane Of the tem


, ,

p le ' the outer corners also retire more deep ly than


the inner .

S tarting at the bas e Of the n asal bone the eye ,

l ids have their origin at the inner corner The .

corner itself located between the b all and the


,

nos e is in the plane o f the face being u naffected


, ,

by the convexity Of the ball The upper lid ri se s .

abruptly from the inner corner and sweep s with ,

graceful cu rve over the spherical form of the eye


ball to the outer co rner while the lower lid starts ,

continu ou sly with the d irection of th e lower


border of the corner curvin g but slightly u ntil it
,

sweep s upward to the upper lid wh ich overlaps ,

it The inner corner of the eye is farther forward


.

than the outer so that a section of the exposed


,

portion Of the eyeball from corner to corner would


s lop e b a ckward from the center of the face ' this

enables the eyes to swing sidewise for Obs erva


tion without turning the head The outer corner .

also is somewhat higher than the inner .

The upp er lid folds upon itself so strongly that


it becomes a d istinct form when the eye i s Op en ,

widening from the corners t o th e m iddle and


extend ing beyond the ball a d istance equ al to its
thickness which is greatest in the center
, The .

lower lid being cap able of but l ittl e movement is


, ,

more softly defined as it comes in contact with the


cheek The upper lid is thicker than the lower as
.
,

it mu st b e to support the heavy lashes as a p ro


t ec t i on an d screen to the eye Th e thickness of .
T H E H U MA N F I GU R E .

the upp er lid and weight o f lashes have mu ch to


d o with giving depth and mystery to the eye
through their shading .

When workin g i n masses Of light and shade


and tone the eye as enclosed by the lids contain
, ,

ing the p up ils iris and wh ite o f the eye had


, ,

better be kept well in tone from which the valu e ,

of the wh ite Of the eye should be lifted care being ,

taken not t o make it too white and also the catch ,

light on the cornea Of the iris should b e lifted i n


the sam e way In section the l id s are sl ightly bu t
.

reversely beveled from front to rear and fit snu gly ,

in contact with the ball .

The eye p ossesses free rotary movement and ,

as each change s ignifies a readj ustment Of the


lids over t he ball an intimate structu ral knowl
,

edge is necessary i n interp reting varied action .

The iris is covered by the cornea wh ich is raised ,

from the ball forming p art of a smaller sp here


, ,

and as the i ris in ord inary vis ion is lapp ed over


well n igh a th ird of its d iameter the cor n ea
-
,

aff ects the form Of the upp er l id del icately rais ,

ing it slightly in whatever d irection the cornea i s


turned The circular form o f the p up il fou nd in
.

the center of the iris is rich and dark in tone ,

being greatly affected in l ife by its d ilation o r


co n traction .


The draftsman s p r o blem in conveying a pi c t o
rial representation of a l iving form l ies in hi s
u nderstanding of the structural form depicted .

The drawing of a symmetrical inanimate form i n


a simple view p resents d ifficulties of i ts own but ,

when we change symmetry to d iver s ity trans ,

form th e inan imate to the l iving in action and ,

add the c ompl ications that come through choosing


a point of V iew wh ich involves fore shortening ,

the artist s structu ral knowledge is keenly taxed



.

In truth stren gth Of draftsmanship lies in t he


,

degree in which stru ctural form is u nderstood .

S tu dy the drawing i n P lates III and I V and


note how p arts of variou s forms become p ortion s
o f planes in which they are containe d t aking their ,

p lace in larger masses than themselves This i s .


P L AT E I V . C ON STRUC TI O N O F E YE .
THE EYE .

r ead ily dem on str a ted i n a s im p le li g hti ng of the


head F or instance in F ig 3 P late I V the lateral
.
, .
, ,

portio n Of the orbicular mu scle or space between


the eye and brow and the outer corner Of the eye
,

inclu d ing p ortions of the lids and the ball are ,

nearly enou gh p arallel t o the tem p oral p lane to


be absorbed by it as represented by a shadow ,

leaving the remainder Of the eye more n early p ar


allel to the front exp osu re Of the face i n the light .

In strong illum ination it is read ily seen what por


,

t ion of a form b elongs to on e p lane and what


belongs to another at least as far as the big,

p lanes wh ich are at right angles are concerned .

In th is three qu arter view of the eye socket


- -

and eyes see how every form s e ts back of the


,

plane of th e orb it The eyebrows com e well from


.

u nderneath the frontal bone and rise to the out


s ide a t the approach Of the temple O bserve the .

fullnes s Of the orb icular mu scle as it overhangs


the eyelid and the eyeli d as it p roj ec ts beyo n d
,

the ball .

N ote the variety of curvature i n the lids n o t


o nly because of their own character but also as

expressed in the three quarter view emp has ized -


,

by the eyes looking out of the corners N ote the .

apparent difference in the outer corners as the


l ids come together the corner Of the nearer eye
,

being qu ite angu lar whereas in the corner of the


,

farther eye the l ids together describe the c on


,

v ex i ty of the ball p erfectly Note too the ten .


, ,

d en c y Of the corn ea to raise that part of the upper


lid u nder which it rests .

The great thickness of the upper l i d fringed


with its heavy lashes shades the upper part of the
iris and gives added depth a nd beauty t o it .

In this three quarter v iew Of the eyes the irises


-

are raised above the level showing an amount of ,

the white of the eyeball below them The iris in .

the three qu arter view becomes oval and when


-
,

the eye is raised s 10 p es in an Oppos ite d irection to


the plane Of th e orbit .

I n this view of the eye the sp iral turn of the


l ids up on the ball is p articu larly noticeable in the
TH E H U MA N F I GU R E .

upp er l id ' the fu ll breadth of its fold as it leaves


the nearer corner of each eye is vis ible u ntil it
reaches the iris ' here the lower l ine Of the fold ,

the edge which holds the la shes fuses with the ,

upp er line Of the fold and following the contour


,

of the ball descends u ntil it reaches the opp os ite


,

corner ' as the breadth Of the fold d isapp ears its ,

thickness comes into evidence showing plainly ,

the inner line Of the thickness of the lid in i t s con


tact with the ball and the slightly increa sed curva
tu re cau sed by the greater convexity Of the iris .

The beauty and grace of the cu rvature of the


lines in the eye are not exceeded by any other
form i n nature . In the farther eye the outer
corner is not visible Observe how beautifully
.

the inner l ine of both l ids as they reach around


,

the bal l to the h idden corner describes the full ,

ness of the b all . N ote also the drawing Of the


farther eyebrow as it goes arou nd the angle of
,

forehead and temp le .

The lighting in this drawing shows in s imilar


shadows the plane of the temple and the small
p lane p arallel in d irecti on the s ide Of the nose
,

opposite and close to the inner corner o f the eye ,

and the mass around the outer corner Of the


nearer eye . This illumination gathers together
the p arts of each form that belong to the big
planes of this p art Of the h ead and d iscloses ,

what p art of the eye belongs t o the front exposu re


of the head a s against other p ortions that belong

o r are p arallel to the side su rface There remain .

then the proj ecting p arts such a s the raised sur


,

faces Of the lids and the eyebrow which are in ,

shadow or l ight accord ing to their exp o sure to the


p articular illuminati on .

The outline of the shadow which m arks the


m om ent or angle of transition from l ight to dark
also marks the separation from plane t o plane in
a large way The p lane that m arks th e s ide of the
.

h ead in this region approaches the eye b y means


Of the temple and includes the temporal portion

o f the orbicular mu scle and that p art of the lids

and the corner of the eye which is p arallel to it .


THE EYE .

An outline Of the angle Of s ep aration of the front


from the s ide of the face as ind icated by the o ut
,

l ine Of the shadow if well constructed will rep eat


, ,

throu gh the foreshortening the exact form of the


Opp osite s ide of the face .

In this actio n of the eye l o oking down every


, ,

p ortion of the contents Of the orb ital p lane


intensifies its d efinition and direction The upper .

l id u nfolds as it descends over the ball and d eli


c a t el y d iscloses its convex form u nderneath and

sep arates itself but slightly from th e orb icular


muscle above .

The lower lid beyo n d a sl ight capacity f o r


,

lateral and downward contractio n plays but a ,

slight p art in recording the movements Of the eye ,

while the upp er lid responds and accommodates


itself to every action and consequently i s a great
factor in its express ion .

Thou gh the outer corners of the eyes are


slightly h igher than the inner the effect of the tri ,

angular mass of shadow under the upper l id wh en ,

the eyes look down sugge sts a d ownward m p e


,

from the inner corner outward In this drawing .

of the eyes , the inward step or slop e from the


temple to the outer corner of the eye is very
n oticeable.

This drawing represents the eye lookin g u p ,

with the folded upp er lid pressing upon the


orb icular muscle in its endeavor to keep the vis ion
clear
. A t th e sam e time it represents the fore
shortening du e to the head b eing tipped back and
away from the Ob server wh ich accounts for the
,

elevation Of the outer corner .

In this view of the action the lower lid ap p ar


,

ently flattens and i n eff ect describes a reversed


cu rve from c orner to corner very delicately ,

whereas the up per lid describes the curvatu re Of


the ball with all its fullness .

In this drawing the foreshorte n ing is less and


the eye looks out from the Opposite corner giving ,

the effect of greater curvature t o the upp er lid


above the cornea .

In the eye looking down as the accomp anying


,
T H E H U MA N F I GU RE .

drawing i n d ic a tes the slo p e of the o rb it a l p l a n e i s


,

least d isturbed the lower lid contracting so that


,

the upp er l id overhangs it considerably The co n .

v ex i t y of the b all u nder the u nfolded upp er lid i s

delicately suggested A s the line of the p rofile of


.

the eye approaches the ri m of its lid it turns o ut


ward sl ightly p rovidin g the greater thickness
,

which enables it to hold the long sweep ing lashes ,

which i n this V iew well nigh rest upon th e cheek


-
.

I n this drawing we have the eye looking up ,

see n i n p rofile A t first glance it would s eem as


.

if the slop e of the o rbital plane had been c on sid


era b l y disturbed This i s du e t o the d irection of
.

the iris b ein g thrown into an opp os ite directio n to


th at of the p lane ' but th is i s more seeming than
real . Tru e the lower lid is p ressed outward a
,

l ittl e but it is the hard p ressu re of the folded


,

upp er li d a gainst the orb icular mu scle that


accou nts for the slight divers i on m the plane .

The front v iew of the eye looking down appar


ently c auses a flatten ing out of the u p per l id the ,

lower lid d escribing more fully the curvature of


the b all b ut with a much smaller arc as is evi ,

d e uc e d by t he u pp er l id when the eye looks up .

The massi ng O f the lashes qu ite hide the o uter


corner .
P LA T E V . C O N S T RU C T I O N O F NO S E .
TH E H U MA N F I G U RE .

thou gh it is a little flatter and more ang u lar at


the bridge than elsewhere ' at the bridge too the
form i s raised the height Of the p roj ection
,

de p ending greatly u pon the typ e of n o se ' p ass ing


th e bridge the bone ceases giving way to a carti
,

l age of which the remainder of the nose is formed .

This cartilage d im inishes i n width from the


bridge and p enetrates wedgelike the broad upp er
su rface of the more bulbou s p art of the nose th e ,

end .

Continu ing the cartilage makes a su dd en turn


,

downward forming the upp er and more c on spi c u


,

ou s angle of the end ' it now begins to dim inish

i n width and making another tu rn enclos ing the


,

breadth of the end Of the nose it b ecomes very


narrow and makes d irectly for the u pp er lip to ,

wh ich it is attached with a l ittle downward cu rve .

O n either s ide Of this narrow cartilage or s eptum


of the nos e are the cavities Of the nostrils which ,

in turn are flanked b y the wings of the nostrils


and buttresslike supp ort the bas e of the nose
, , .

A ll of these incidents o r minor planes below


the end b elong to the u nder surface Of the nose .

The nostrils have their origin in the end of the


nose the cavity widening as it app roaches the
,

wing Of the nostril which marks its termination


,

and completes the dep th of the nose The j unction .

of l ip with nose i s about half of the depth The .

septum or m iddle cartilage u nder the nose hangs


so mu ch lower than the wings o f the no strils that

it subd ivi des th e u n der surface into three general


planes ' first the breadth Of the septu m and on
, ,

either s ide the p lanes that contain the cavities .

The details o f the u nder su rface mu st be thor


oughly u nderstood or they will n ot remain in
place ' this will be particularly evidenced in a
three qu arter view in accou nting f or the fore
-
,

shortening i n the farther n ostril When the nose .

is l ighted from above or at an angle Of fo rty fi v e -

degrees th e details Of the u nder su rface remain


,

u nd isturbed in its m ass an d its contents are only


made known by the reflected l ight enteri n g it .

The s ides of th e nose up above are p recip itou s


T H E NO S E .

and terminate qu ite abruptly n ear the eye but a ,

l ittle lower m p e out ward more and fu se qu ite


softly into the cheek The height Of the wing of
.

the nostrils begins qu ite delicately a l ittle way


back along the s ides of the end o f the nose and
terminate their dilated form sharply upon the
cheek The upper or more convex p arts Of the nos
.

tril belong to the sides Of the nose while the -

thickness Of its walls belong rather to the u nder


surface .

There are many typ es Of noses and an infinite


variation from each typ e The character Of the.

type of nos e may be readily u nderstood by the


establishment of the relations Of the three p arts ,

namely the relation of the bridge to the end and


, ,

Of the end to the broadest p art o f the wing Of the

nostrils in its contact with the cheek B y way Of .

illu stration draw t w o noses in p rofile m aking the


, ,

two alike includ ing the bridge which should be


, ,

fairly p rominent Now in the on e case make or


.

add a depressed end that will fal l ins ide of or


below the bridge and the n to the other an end
,

that will rise or stand out b eyond the bridge '


now add to the first a wing of the n ostril placed
high in relatio n to the end and connected with it
by a line that separates th e u nder from the s ide
surface D O the same with the other only p lace
.
,

the nostril l ow and note how much relationsh ip


,

Of the p arts has to do with su ggesting the typ e


and character of the nos e The p arts in them .

selves i n both drawings are about the same the ,

d iff erence in the main lies in their altered rela


t i on shi p
In the Greek typ e — the straight nose — i n
.

which the bridge and the end are but sl ightly fel t
as deviation from the general d irection the l ine ,

o f direction from end to wing of the nostril is

qu ite horizontal ' i n the Roman and p articularly ,

in the hook nose an exaggerated typ e the end i s


, ,

depressed the wing of the nostril h igh and the


,

bridge p rominent ' on the contrary in a p ert nos e ,

we find a depressed bridge th e end p ointing for ,

ward or upward and the nostril low .


THE H U M AN F I G U RE .

B eware Of getting the t op Of the nose too flat


when drawing other than the profile In the p ro .

file the form of the contour Of the n ose from the


frontal bone to the l ip i s d istinctly seen and read
ily u nderstood but not so in the other views ' the
,

ris ing and falling Of the parts in connection with


their increas ing and decreas ing widths requ ire s
the most p atient study in order that all the p lanes
may be u nderstood and then express ed .

The two drawings below rep resent the nose in


varied degrees of foreshortening the rising and ,

fall ing of the p arts being read ily d iscerned


throu gh it and showing p lainly th e aqu il i ne typ e
, .

This view too shows how the base Of the nos


t r i l s rests up on the s ides of the lip and that the
j u nction of nos e and lip is well forward Of them ,

giving at the same time a hin t Of the convexity Of


the upp er j aw and teeth whos e d irection the lip
,

follows .

The lower drawing shows the subdivis ion Of


the near s ide of the u nder su rface of the nose in
the light as against its Opposite i n shadow p rov ,

ing how l ow the s eptu m i s in relation to the


no strils .

When the head leans forward the end of the ,

nose droop ing down well below the wing of the


nostrils if the action be exce ss ive there will b e no
, ,

cavity visible so that in this V iew we see but the


,

tops and s id es on e or both depend ing upon


, ,

whether it be a front or thre e quarter view The


-
.

contou r O f the nos e from the nostrils forward in


this V iew i s exactly the sam e on the two sides ,

only the revers e of the shap e Of the u nder su rface


when in shadow and seen from below N ote al so .

how the wings of the nostrils slop e toward the


body Of the nose from their base where they are ,

widest .
E NOSE .
TH E H U MA N F I G U RE .
E NOSE .
P LA T E V I . C O N S T R U C T IO N O F M O U T H .
THE H U MA N F I GU R E .

Th o ugh the mo u th is convex i n the mass and


raised slightly from the general p lane of the face
'except at the corners where the lip s dip into a
,

depress ion ) the convexity is d ifferently expressed


,

in each l ip The mucou s p ortion of the u pp er l ip


.

i s d ivided into two equal p arts or planes of great ,

est width where they come together i n the m iddle


of the mouth retreating with d iminishing thick
,

ness with a downward curve to the depressed


corners . The lower lip on the other hand con , ,

tains three pla n es the central on e with a d epres


,

s ion in the m iddle into which the ce n tral


,

mound Of the up p er l ip fits extend ing well on ,

either s ide of the middle of the upp er l ip and ,

flanked by a m inor on e on ea c h s ide The p lanes .

Of the uppe r lip are comparatively flat and angu


lar wh ile those of the lower are v ery convex and
,

rou nded .

The space b etween the nose and the upper lip


i s concave vertically an d has its origin at the
,

m iddle cartilage Of th e n os e in th e form of a


depress ion which widens a s it descends and ter
,

m i n a t es in the delicate angl e of the middle of the


u pp er l ip ' the center Of this angle forms the most
forward p art of the mouth This angle i s .

rep eated in the contact of the upper l ip with the


lower immediately below this p oint thou gh the ,

angle i s more obtu se and a l ittle flattened show ,

ing how the upper l ip clasp s the lower as it over


hangs it The lower l ip rolls outward and i s apt
.
,

t o be full and convex in p roportion to the d epth


,

of the concavity below it This depress ion or .

l en gth of the lower l ip d ivides p erceptibly and


forms at its base the upp er border of the chin
which p rotru des from i ts depth .

Throu gh the study of the profile which is ,

equ ivalent t o the vertical section these facts are ,

more read ily u nderstood N ote first the back .

ward m p ing p lane from the n ose to the base of


the chin and in it find a series of step s the upper ,

lip overhanging the lower and the lower lip the


ch in . N ote the concavity in the vertical l ine of
both l ips and the convexity of their thickness or
TH E M O U T H A N D C H I N .

mu c o u s porti o n greater in the lower —a t least


,

more roll ing al l subtly connected with adj acent


parts of the face p articu larly i n the soft play at
,

the corners The sep aration of the th ickness or


.
,

mucou s p ortion from the cutaneou s of the upper


, ,

lip from the p ortion of the face above it d ue to ,

its an g ularity is sharp er than in the lower lip


, ,

excepting in the center of the latter at its lower


border .

The thickness of the walls of the mouth ma n i ,

f est ed variou sly in the changes of formation of


the lip s is d isclosed when the mouth is sl ightly
,

O pened Y ouwill n otice the thickness of the cen


.

ter of the u pp er l ip ' its planes are clean cut and


angular On the other hand the fullne s s Of the
.
,

lower lip is rounded lacking i n decided angu ,

l a ri ty .

Y oushould also p ay attention to the th ickness


of the walls Of the mouth at the corners in the

front and three qu arter views 'P late V I I ) I n this


-
.

action of opening th e mouth as i n lau ghter the , ,

lips p ress gently against th e teeth sl id ing upon ,

them as the action increases The arch of the .

teeth is followed by the shap e of the lip s u ntil the


corners of the mouth are reached the corners ,

sharing the d irection Of the p lane Of the cheeks ,

and when the corners are p ulled back in the act ,

of sm iling a l ittle sp ace is left between the cor


,

ners and the teeth marked by deep shadows , .

It will be Observed that in the action referred


to in th e front view the detail of the l ine that
, ,

marks the base of the upper l ip is horizontal ,

while the general form of the upp er line Of the


lower lip against the teeth app ears concave ,

app roaching the upper l ip at an acute angle at the


ends but melting into it with a graceful tu rn at
,

the corners The lower lip too flattens out con


.
, ,

si d era b l y and becomes more angu lar This may .

be read ily seen i n the decrease of th e concavity


below the u nder lip this depress io n becomin g ,

much les s marked .

The angularity of the horizontal planes Of the


li p s i s made the more evident in the smil ing
T H E H U MA N F I GU R E .

mouth 'see P late VI I three qu arter v iew sl ightly ,


-
,

foreshortened ) showing the t w o planes i n the


,

thickness Of the upp er l ip and the three i n the


lower the large middle su rface being p ressed
,

against the teeth .

The op ening of the mouth is due to the action


Of the lower j aw and thou gh the lower lip may
,

b e slightly contracted the teeth show but l ittle ,

except in decided lau ghter O n the other hand . ,

the upp er j aw being stationary the teeth show ,

below the upp er l ip and the least exp ression that


,

p ulls back the corners of the mouth contracting ,

the upp er l ip shows them more fully


, .

The mass o f the chin envelop es the front p lane


of the l o wer j aw and is angular or rounded
accordingly as the s itter is youthful and pl ump or
Old and attenuated .

Its form as seen in the p rofile dep ends greatly


, ,

u p on the d evelopment of character and racial



typ e It may p rotru de beyond the lower l ip with
.

c o nsiderable decis io n or fall back of it in a ret i r


ing manner I n the more norm al typ e it falls
.

a b out u n derneath th e lower lip .

The lower border of the chin is straight a c ross ,

c on taining a sl ight d ep ress ion i n the c enter The .

lateral borders are qu ite round and stand away


sl i ghtly from the walls Of the j aw ' the upp er sur
face which marks the depth Of the chin as it p ro
,

trudes from the face is convex and enters the


,

center of the le ngth of the lower l ip .

The b readth of th e ch in becomes the base of


a n elongated trian gle m ade b y two lines descend ,

ing from the septum of the nose at its ap ex The .

lateral b orders of this triangle p ass throu gh or


touch upon the bord ers Of the groove above the
upper lip continu ing throu gh th e angles at its
,

mucou s borders and finally throu gh the fullest


p art Of the lower l ip to th e ch i n .

In the mouth of the child it will be noticed


that in the pressu re between the cheeks the m id
dle of the upper l ip is p u shed forward greatly the ,

s ides of the lip b ei n g at qu ite a n angle to on e


another ' as the pressu re i s remove d with increase
T H E M O U T H A N D CH I N .

Of years the angle d iminishes and the mouth


,

becomes flatter and wider The lower lip how .


,

ever falls back snu gly betwee n the cheeks so that


, ,

in the p rofile of a child the upper l ip and ch in only


are vis ible In Old age the lack of the teeth
.
,

throws the lower j aw forward to such an extent


th a t thou gh the lower lip falls back locally as well
as the upper lip it is apt to p rotrud e beyond the
,

upper l ip becau s e of the proj ecting j aw .

I n a larger way as well as in detail we find , ,

the forms about the mouth qu ite Opposite to on e


another in the extremes of age ' in the child we
find the mouth contained i n a vert ical groove
betwee n the rounded cheeks i nto which the lower ,

lip s inks an d from which the upper l ip pro t rudes '


,

in old age the teeth an d fullness Of cheeks have


,

fallen away s o that the groove now is hor izontal


along the line of the lips into which the up p er lip ,

d ip s an d the lower p rotru des .

The len gth Of the u pper l ip 'meaning the


space between nose and mouth ) at its origin
should leave the septum of the nose with a sl ight
cu rve not a sharp angle ' its vertical l ine in the
,

center is concave and at the sep aration Of the ,

mucou s p art or thickness from its length we find


a d ec ided angle both vertically and horizontally '
th is marks the most forward p art of the mouth .

'
The len gth of the upp er lip is u sed in this
d iscu ss ion for convenience to indicate the central
space from t he nose to the mouth the region ‘

referred to when we say a man h as a long upp er


lip .
'

The middle p ortion Of the len g th of the upp er


lip i s p arallel to the front plane Of the face and is
marked by a delicate groove which widens in its
descent to the thickness where it terminates with
a proj ecting obtu se angle form ing the ap ex Of the
upp er lip .

It is a common error t o draw the line of the


upper border Of the red p art of the lips in the ,

p rofile d irect to the ap ex mentioned In the pro


, .

file the t w o borders of the groove in the length of


,

the upper l ip merge into on e and find a continua


THE H U MA N F I GU R E .

tion in the merged lines of the p roj e c ting angle


forming the apex of the lip so that in the p rofil e
,

the len gt h of the upper lip extends to the apex


a n d the upp er border Of the thickness of the win g
of the li p enters th e le ngth a b o ve the ap ex by a
,

space equal in height t o the depth O f the proj ect


ing an g le
.
TH E M O U T H A N D CH I N .
P LA T E V I L C ON S T R U C T I O N O F MO U T H A N D E AR .
T H E H U MA N F I G UR E .

'

the ear It continu es upward completing the


.
,

len gth turns backward and forming the upp er


, ,

border descends to the greatest breadth which is ,

about a third Of the way down or about Opp os ite


,

the upper rim Of the bowl ' continu ing its descent ,

it app roaches the front border somewhat t o the


,

level of the lower rim of the bowl rep resenting ,

another third ' in its detou r this outer rim begins


with a fold well turned up on itself but at the ,

approach to the greatest width of the ear this


depth d im inishes and o pp osite the lower part of
,

the bowl the rim is but separated by a groove ,

wh ich is entirely dissipated as the rim enters the


soft and somewhat flattened lobe .

The ear i s apt to be neglected by artists p roba ,

bly first because of its retired location ' second


, ,

becau se it is Often hidden by the hair and head


dress and finally becau se of its taki n g no p art in
, ,

the express ion or action of the head The draft s .

man however is read ily betrayed through hi s


, ,

neglect and it is in j u st such forms as the ear that


h e shows his skill and knowledge and the beauty,

and del icacy as well as strength of its intricate


form s are worthy Of his most careful attention .
P L A T E V I II . PE N C I L D RA WI N G O F Y O U N G W O M A N I N PR O F I L E .

BY J H V A N DE R P O E L
. . .
CH AP T E R V

T H E H EAD .

N the head Of the lower animal there are cer


tain structu ral characteristics that Obtai n
equ ally i n the human head and which once a ppre , ,

c i a t ed,
enable the student the more readily to
understand the relationship of the planes that
bound it We find the same skeleton o r bony
.

s tructu re upon which to bu ild the craniu m or ,

rou nded receptacl e enclosing the brain the orbits , ,

the cheek bones the nasal bone and the j aw The


, .

great d iff erence is not found in kind but in degree .

H owever irrespective Of the d ifference there may


,

be between one animal and another the diff erence ,

between them collectively and the human being i s


so great the gap so wide that superficially con
, ,

si d ered all trace Of the lower animal is lost


, .

There are two radical structu ral d i fferences t o


be mentioned ' first the relative p osition and the ,

p roportion of the lower to the upper p art of the


skull and second the relative p osition o f the head
, ,

t o the body The head of the animal i s carried in


.

a nearly horizontal position wh ereas man carries ,

it in a vertical p os ition .

Taking the eye and ear as a med ian l ine from


which to dep art their relat ive p osition being the
,

same in man and animal it will be noticed that ,

above the l ine the brain development in man


,

makes f or an upward enlargement Of the top of


the skull and a forward pressu re Of the frontal
bone placing the frontal bone at right angles or
, ,

nearly so t o the top of the hea d


, B elow the .

median l ine it will b e O b served that the large


muzzle of the animal p roj ects strongly from the
skull with the nose well flattened up on it placing ,

the mu zzle at right angles to the j aw the lower ,


THE H U MA N F I G U R E .

j aw and embryo chi n extend i n g pro po rt i on ately


from the throat .

I n p roportion then the upp er p art o f the


, ,

human head i s large above the median line and


the head of the animal large below the median
l ine
.

The change in proportions brings with it a


change in the relative p osition of the p arts A .


l ine drawn throu gh the length of the animal s
h ead ru ns d iagonally through th e median line ,

whereas in man it crosses it nearly at right


angles ' as the brain develop s it rises vertically ,

and with its development the lower part Of the


head retires and falls d irectly u nder it .

In the face Of man the differences are man i ,

f est ed in the well nigh vertical and overhanging


-

frontal bone the ch iseled p roj ecting nose and th e


, , ,

highly developed chi n ' in the animal thes e same


forms are reduced to the low m p ing head the ,

flat fused nose and ru d imentary ch in


, .

It is in the middle and lower p art of the


human hea d that traces of the animal nature
manifest themselves even i n the highly develop e d
,

man The plane upon which the nose rests par


.

takes of the proj ecting muzzle i n the animal and ,

as i n the animal the lower p art of the face has a


,

tendency to retire but t his t enden c y i s mod ified


,

by the develop ed and p roj ecting ch i n .

H aving stud ied the comp onent p arts of the


head i n the shap e of the featu res and looked into ,

th e com parative form Of the head in the animal


and man the next step will be the study of the
,

construction of the head as a whole throu gh an ,

analys is o f the larger planes as they b ou nd and ,

give it substance .

A pup il must learn early in the study of draw


ing to app reciate mentally all the planes that
encomp ass the head thou gh to the p hysical eye ,

from a given p oint of view only certain ones may


b e vis ible This c o ns c iou snes s and u nderstandin g
.

of the planes will enable the stu d ent the more

readily to approach a n d com p rehend the three


essentials that characterize a strong drawing
P LA T E IX . C O N S T R UC T I O N O F H E A D .
P LA T E X . C O N S T RU C T I O N O F H E A D .
T H E H U MA N F I GU R E .

intr o duc i n g the neck which i s placed well back of


,

the center Of the skull .

It will be observed n ow that the greatest


breadth is across the brow to the fullest p art of
the back of head This d ivision marks the sep a
.

ration Of the upp er from the lower p art of the


head each p ortio n in its ascent and descent
,

decreas ing in width to its termination The upper .

p ortion i s shorter i n the front Of the he a d while ,

the lower p art is shorter in the b ack .

In order that the planes and their boundaries


may b e more read ily u nderstood in these constru e
tive drawings of the human head and figu re the ,

eff ect Of light and shade has b een very s imply


u sed with the p u rpos e of givin g the third d i m en
,

sion throu gh the marked transition of the sur


faces u nder the strong illumination .

F or the p u rp ose of study the student should


illumine the head with a narrow and s ingle source
of l i g ht B y p ull ing do wn the shades of other
.

windows than the one to be u sed and cl o s ing the


lower half of that a stream of light enters the
,

ro o m at an angle of about forty fi v e degrees -


.

N ow if we p lace the s itter at such an angle to the


light as will throw the s i de and back of the head
in shadow the sou rce of l ight being above the
,

level Of the s itter the top of the head and front o f


,

the face will be in the light a nd all o v erha ng ing ,

and p roj ecting p arts will b e i n shadow with the


s ide and back Great care shou ld be taken to turn
.

the hea d so a s to locate through the e d ge Of shadow


th e p oints or ridge of sep aratio n of s ide from
front A cube similarly placed will show the upp er
.

and one s ide surfa c e th e si d e equ ivalent to the


face in the l ight and the s id e nearest the stu dent
,

in shadow .

With such s imple illumination and the shad ,

ows kept qu iet throu gh lack of d iffu sed and


reflected light the relative location of p lanes and
,

their demarcation b ecome lum inou s to the st u



dent s m ind a s well as eye .

The two sides o f th e head are symmetrical


structu rally This is theoretically tru e Of the
.
P L A T E XI . C HARC O A L D RA WI N G O F W O M A N F R O M L I F E .

BY A B I GA I L L AN
HO M .
P LA T E XI I . P E N C I L D RA W I N G O F Y O U N G W O MAN .

BY J . n . V A N DER POE L .
TH E H EAD .

details a s well as the larger forms ' but i n actu al


character there are many deviations from th e
regu lar ' the eyebrows are not exactly alike n or ,

are the corners Of the mouth ' o n e may be h igher


than the other or d eeper there may be d i sc rep ,

a n c i es in many ways ' bu t on e should reflect


b efore recognizing these slight d ifferences too
early for what p roves t o be but a s light deviation
,

from the regular may become a deformity In .

principle the two sides of the head are in p erfect


symmetry A ny variation that relates to the
.

character Of a head should be so carefully ren


d ered as n o t to de stroy the balance Of the parts .

In the front view as in th e profile the great


, ,

est width of the head is found j u st above the ears '

it is the location Of the greate st width at this


p oint that suggests the egg shape as a convention
a l i z ed form for the head .

In locating the planes in the front v iew find ,

first the top Of the h ead terminating with the for e


head marking the upper bou ndary Of the face '
,

next the s ides Of the head enclos ing the forehead


,

by means of the temples ' and third the lower ,

p art Of the face ' n ext the sides of the cheeks to


,

the chin B elow forming the lower border of the


.
,

face is the under surface of the j aw H ere too


, .
, ,

the greatest width i s above the center re sulting ,

in the sam e oval form for the face as the head .

Conceive in the drawing Of the fa c e first the , ,

vertical plane Of the forehead bou nd ed at its lat


eral borders by the planes of the temples which ,

d e part from one another as far a s the cheek


bones locating the widest p art Of the face ' next
, ,

a plane combining th e eye socket s slop ing inward -

at an obtuse angle with the forehead ' below thi s


find the large st plane o f the face the plane Of the ,

cheeks bisected by the nose It is bou nded above


, .

by the eye sockets and extends sl ightly beyond


-
,

them at the base Of the temples form ing the ,

greatest width of the face at the cheek bones As -


.

it descends the plane decreases more rap idly in


,

width than the face and term inates l ike an


inverted triangle at the apex of the upp er lip .
TH E H U MA N F I GU R E .

The two s i d es of this triangular p la n e are b o r


dered by the s ides of the face from the cheek ,

bones down whos e p lanes slightly approach one


,

another as they descend from the cheek bones -


,

marki n g the tap eri ng Of the face fr o m i ts greatest


width to the j aws .

The chiselin g of these planes is more mani


fest i n t he th in face tha n the fleshy on e and it is ,

the k n owle d ge of them tha t has such significant


valu e t o the p ainter as the p lanes i n the face
,

denote more intrins ically the character of the


head tha n the mere features .

The drawing of a three quart er v iew means -

the f o reshortening of the fac e betwee n the s ides of


the head an d the n earer s ide be t ween the back of
head and the face I n s u ch foreshortening the far
.

ther half of the face becomes narrow i n r a tio as


the n earer h a lf o f the hea d widens and the ratio ,

mu st b e kept with exactness or the farther half Of


the face will look out Of p rop o rti on a s the ten ,

den ey is to m ake it t o o broad .

Whe n the hea d tips b ack or lea n s f o rw a r d an d


is see n t hree qu arter V iew the foreshort ening
-
,

be co mes do uble and therefore greatly compl icates


the relative p ositio n of the p lanes When the .

he a d leans forward the am o u nt seen of the t op


,

of the hea d is greatly increase d as if we were ,

l o oki n g down up o n it The ears wh i c h are on a


.
,

l i n e with th e base of the nose an d eyebrows are ,

n ow fo u n d t o be high the i nn er end o f the eye


,

brows are p laced low in relation to the outer the ,

outer corners of the eyes are higher than th e


i nn er the wi n gs of the n o strils are h i g her than
,

the e n d of the n ose and th e corners of the mouth


,

higher than the middle ' but whe n the head leans
back all these relationshi p s are revers ed
, We .

see none of the top of the hea d but we look into


the under surface of the j aw and chin th e u nder ,

su rfaces of the l ip s and n ose an d the overhang ,

i ng surface of the orb its A ll these are the


.

Obviou s thou gh m inor manifestations of fore


,

sh o rt enin g The large planes in whi c h the fea


.

tu res are conta ined or of whi c h they are a p art


, ,
PLA T E XI I I — CH ARC O AL D RA WI N G O F WO M A N FR O M L I F E
.
,
.

BY I SA B E L T E M P LE .
P LA T E X I V . C HA RC O AL D RA W I N G O F Y O U N G GI RL O N
T O N E D PA P E R .

BY '
J. H V A N DE R POE L
. .
TH E H U MA N F I G UR E .
P LA T E X V . C H ARC O A L D RA WI N G O F MA N F R O M L I F E .

BY W A L D O B OW S E R .
PL AT E XVI . C HARC O A L D RA WI N G OF Y O U NG GI R L FR O M

BY M AR Y O RR .
CH AP T E R V I .

TH E BONY S TRUCTURE OF T H E TRU N K .

HE thigh bones or femu rs with proj ecting


-

heads support a backward m p ing bowl like


,
-
,
-

platform 'the pelvis ) comp osed Of the two iliac


bones between which firmly wedged and key
, ,

stone i h shap e rests the sacrum so fu sed with


, ,

the pelvis a s to make a common mass .

While the p elvis leans forward the sacrum ,

receives the weight Of the thorax throu gh the


sp inal column and is located immed iately above
,

the head o f the femu r to which it is transmitted .

The sacru m terminates with the coccyx ,

which with the sacrum determines the outward


, ,

slope Of the lower part of the back this m p e ,

deviating more from the vertical in the female


than the male .

The Sp inal column including the sacrum and ,

coccyx which are in real ity fu sed vertebrae


, ,

de scribes a double reverse curve with a forward


and backward movement It tapers del icately .

from the sacrum up and is made of d isks which


perm it Of lateral and forward and backward
movements according t o location The lumbar .

vertebr ae in the region Of the small of the back


p ermit of lateral and backward movement ' on the
other hand the dorsal vertebr ae t o which the ribs
, ,

are attached permit Of forward movement but


, ,

p artake little in the lateral and do not enter at all ,

into a backward action ' the cervical vertebrae


enter into any of these actions being the most ,

free i n construction of all .

The sp inal column termi n ates above the atlas


bone the mechanism of which p ermits Of a con
,

si d er a b l e degree Of rotation Of the head which ,

rests up on it .
T H E H U MA N F I GU R E .

The ribs are attached t o the Sp inal c o lumn in


the dorsal region As they leave the Sp ine their
.

d irection i s somewhat downward and backward ,

caus ing the body Of the sp ine to app ear embedded


deeply between them the downward d irection
,

increas ing in the lower ribs and the length of the ,

backward d irectio n being greater at th e bottom


Of the thorax tha n at the top cau s ing the groove ,

o f which the Sp ine is the center t o grow wider as

it descends The ribs now m ake a forward sweep


.

at the s ides and r ise by means Of a cartilage to


the sternum or breast bone to wh ich the seven
-
,

upper ribs are attached ' three called false ribs , ,

are attached c a rt i l a g i n ousl y to on e another and


finally by means Of the S ixth rib to the sternum '
, ,

while the two lowest ribs diminishing in length ,

as they descend are free from any connection but


,

the Sp ine and are called floating r ibs .

The sternum or breast bone run s p arallel to -

the lower dorsal vertebr ae beginning at th e level


,

Of the second dorsal vertebr ae It has a broad .

head upon whos e s ides the clavicles rest and a


blade t o which the ribs are attached .

The formation Of th e false rib s in their


attachment to on e another and their rise to the
sternu m p roduces th e thorac ic arch which marks ,

the boundary line between the thorax and the


abdominal cavity sep aratin g the upp er from the
,

central mass of the body thou gh by means Of the


,

arch the masses p ass on e another and interlace .

The form of the mass of ribs is sl ightly con i


cal A t its greatest width about the seventh rib
.
,

down it is a trifle narrower than the m easure


,

ment across the heads Of the femu rs or hip s ,

showing that the more sol id p art of the body


tapers upward the su perficial tap er from above
,

down in the l iving figure being du e to the added


mass Of the shoulder on either side of the upper
p art of the thorax .

The clavicle on each s ide describ ing a revers e


,

cu rve from the sternum outward p roduces the ,

shap e of the convex ity of the forward surface of


the thorax and revers ing its cu rvatu re sends out
,
T H E B O N Y S T RU C T U RE O F T H E T RU N K .
67

its extremity t o m eet the flattened acromion p roc


ess Of the scapula which comes from behind
, .

The scapu la is a flat triangu lar bone exhibit


, ,

ing a Slight convexity very thin but strength


, ,

ened by i t s p roj ecting sp ine Its only bony


.

attachment to the skeleton i s by means Of the



clavicle s h inge up on the head Of the sternum S O ,

that the whole mass Of the shoulders may be


raised giving the app earance Of the n eck being
,

depressed between them Ju st below the j unc


.

ture Of clavicle and scapula and at the upper end


,

Of the outer border of the latter is th e cuplike


,

socket which makes the receptacle f or the head


of the humeru s or upper bone Of the arm .
TH E H U MA N F I G U RE .
TH E S TU D Y O F TH E TRU NK .
71

th e human body is cap able Of emanate f or the ,

hip and p elvis form the point Of transmiss ion ,

from lower to upper p art Of the body of all the ,

power that controls great movements .

TO u nderstand the human form it must be


drawn from many p oints Of view This will ena .

ble the stu dent to see form as the sculptor does ,

so that he will s ee around his V iew and conceive ,

the idea Of solid ity without a sacrifice Of si l '

honette .

In s ilhou ette the back and front v iews are


alike as are the right and left p rofiles but in solid
, ,

representation thou gh the p rofiles are alike the


, ,

front and back view are in many ways materially


u nlike ' f or the front Of the body from the head .

Of the sternu m to the base Of the abdomen i s ,

convex while the back 'longer than the front ) is


,

comp rised of a double reverse cu rve which is ,

most concave in the small of the back Opposite ,

the fullest p art of the front and convex at the ,

shou lder blade abov e Opp os ite the sternum and


-
, ,

again convex at the base of the back opp os ite the ,

lowest part Of the abdomen .

Irrespective Of the p oint of v iew and Of action ,

the d ifference b etween front and back and the


basic form of wedge and buttress m ay readily b e
traced in the human trunk .

In the profile or vertical section th e body may


be divide d into three horizontal sections the ,

upp er containing the cage of ribs the central con ,

tainin g the abdom inal mass located b etw een the ,

false rib s and the crest of the p elvis and the .

lower containing the p elvis the lower p ortion of


,

the abdomen and the extremity of the back .

The upp er and lower masses are remarkable


for their bony character The u pp er l ike a cage
.
,

mad e of the ribs the ster n um the clavicles and


, ,

the scap ula all supp orted b y the sp ine encloses


, ,

the vital organs The mu scles that clothe this


.

form are greatly affected b y this bony cage in the


p roduction of the planes The only bony form in
.

the central mass is the column of vertebr ae in the


small of the back I n the lower mass the bones
.
T H E S T U D Y O F T H E T RU N K .
73

are heavy and deep seated instead of external -


,

only coming to the su rface at the crest Of the


pelvis the coccyx and the head of the femu r or
, ,

h ip bone ' as ide from the crest of the p elvis and


head of the femu r which form the two bony ,

p oints in the buttressl ike form on each s id e the ,

bones affect the external f o rm less than above .

The mu scles p ro d ucing the external planes come


from a deep er origin in consequence and are less ,

affected externally by the bones within .

In establishing this d ivision Of three masses


i n the body we mu st fix l ines or p lanes to locate
their d emarcation .

The upper mass is b ou nded above by the l ine at


the base of the neck marking the th ickness Of
this region from the p it of the throat to the ver
,

t eb ra l p rominence This plane slop es upward


.

from front to back I n the back the form is .

bounded from above down b y th e outward Slop e


o f the trapez ius the shoulder blade an d the latis
,
-
,

s im a s dors i as far as the upp er angl e of the small


,

o f the back In the front is found the plane o f


.

the chest made by the pectoral mu scles and the


,

cartilaginou s form of the fals e ribs which i n the ,

erect figu re extends beyond the chest forming ,

the highest p roj ection along the p rofile Of the


front of the figure The base then of this upp er
.
, ,

mass extends d iagonally dow n ward along the


arch o f the fals e ribs to the upp er angl e of the
small Of the back It will b e noted that the d i rec
.

tion of this mass from the d iagonal l ine of the


false ribs up i s controlled by the backward m p e
Of the chest in front and its p arallel the l a t i ssi , ,

mu ,s in the back so that a line draw n throu gh


,

the center of the mass from the false ribs ,

upward p ass ing through th e v ertebral p romi


,

n en c e Slop es backward decidedly parallel t o the


, ,

dorsal vertebr ae .

The central mass wedged between the upper ,

and lower is fleshy except for the Sp ine and only


, ,

the processes of the vertebr ae are visible in the


groove along its course in the small of the back .

The u pper bou ndary of this mass is marked by


T H E S T U D Y O F T H E T RU N K .
75

the d iagonal line of the false ribs ' the front


bou ndary by the abdominal wall 'which slopes
inward slightly ) beginning with the highest p oint
o f the fals e ribs and term inating at a p oint a

l ittle below the navel where the a b dominal wall


,

takes a deep er inward turn ' and the lower


boundary is m arked by a l ine drawn from the
angle made by the upper and lower p arts of the
abdomen diagonally u p ward and backward
throu gh the crest of the il ium to the a n gle at the
base Of the small of the back This line in accord .
,

with the crest of the ilium is Opp osite in d i rec,

tion to the line Of the false ribs The small of .

the back marks the bou ndary in the back and ,

being nearly p arallel to the abdom inal wall in


front with it controls the d irection o f this mass
, .

A line drawn throu gh its axi s o r center discloses a


slight forward leaning .

The lower m ass is bou nded above by the p elvic


slope ' in front by the lower p art o f the abdomen ,

wh ich slopes inward between the thighs ' along


the back by the under portion of the buttock as
far a s its attachment to the thigh This attach .

ment is so much lower than the p oint where t he


abdomen goes between the thigh s that the line
marking the bas e of the body slopes in the Op posite
d irection to that which marks the attachment of
neck to body .The direction of the lower mass
being controlled by the p os ition Of the gluteu s
maximu s mu scle the lower p art of the back and
, ,

its p arallel the lower p art Of the abdomen


,

slopes decidedly backward and downward and is


opp osed in p os ition and in the d irection of all its
boundaries to the upp er mass .

The tru nk shou ld be stu d ied and draw n at


least from five p oints Of view ' the p rofile the ,

front and back views and t w o three qu arter


,
-

views o n e Of three qu arter front and the other


,
-

o f three qu arter back view


-
.

A s remarked above the fro n t and back views


, ,

thou gh d ifferent in rel ief are al ike in S ilhouette


, ,

a n d this i s equally tru e of the three qu arter views -


78 T H E H U MA N F I G UR E .

of front and back th a t is o n conditi o n th a t they


, ,

are seen from the same elevation and angle .

That the third d imens ion the d imension of ,

sol id ity becomes an imp ortant factor may read


, ,

ily be u nderstood an d made interesting by Ob serv


ing that two drawin g s may be alike in the si l
hou ett e the first and second d ime n sions
, but in ,

the natu re of their relief or m anifestatio n of the


third d imension may be entirely d ifferent .

H aving stud ied the vertical section Of the pr o


fi l e of the tru nk giving th e relatio n o f three
,

d ivis ions that comprise it and b efore going i nto


,

the formatio n of its p roj e c ting p lanes the front ,

and back views should be c onsidered t o that end .

The irregular and inverted pyramid that rep


resents t he conventionalized form of the body


contains the g rand p lanes Of which the body is
comp osed In the front Of the body is found the
.

great plane Of the chest with its outward slop e


,

tapering as it descends f r om the great width


across the clavicles at th e shoulders to its bas e
acros s the nipples sep arating the chest nearly at
,

right angles from th e s ide of the body I mm ed i .

ately below is the great abdominal plane slop ing ,

inward a little and tap ering slightl y as it descends


to the angle j ust below the navel which sep arates ,

it from the lower abdominal p l a ne forming the


ap ex of the pyramid The p lanes Of the s ides are
.

at a sl ight obtus e angle to the front making the ,

back somewhat wider than the front Thu s the .

wedge i n th e back is wider and shorter in app ear


ance than the front becau se it p enetrates in the
,

lower part of the body at a higher elevati o n than


in front .

In the back the pla n e of t he sh o ulder blades -

is nearly p erp end icu lar and p laced Oppos ite the
chest thou gh not so long
,
Immediately bel o w
.
,

this vertical p lane of the back slopes i n rap idly ,

and tapering is inserted j u st below t he small of


,

the back between the subd ivis ions of the bu ttock .

The p lane of the buttock slopes outwar d d imi n ,

i shi n g i n width to the base and turns inward ,

abruptly to the back of the thi ghs The flat .


PLA T E X XI I . SE CTI O N S ' M ALE .
80 TH E H U MA N F I GU R E .

p l a nes Of the s ides Of the b o dy first wide n to the


g reatest width fr o m the nipples t o the shoulder
blades and the n dim i n ish i n width in their
,

inward slop e t o the waist .

A gai n st the lower term ination of the sides


and a l ittl e back of the center of the waist the ,

buttress form of the p elvis and hip asserts itself ,

be co ming wider and deeper in its outward and


backward slop e u ntil it reaches the diagonal slop e
of the c rest of the p elvis from which it descend s
,

i n g reater width and thickness t o the hip at th e


s ide the th igh in front and the fullness of the
, ,

buttock b ehind The lower p art Of the s ide of the


.

body from the hea d of the femu r or hip bone


,
-

ba c k sl op es i n an Opp o s ite directio n to the p lane


,

o f the upp er p art of the sid e of th e body that is , ,

t he pl a n e of the upper p art s 10 pes outward and


o

backward wh il e the p la n e of the lower p art


,

sl o pes inward and backward .

In drawing the p rofile front or back view , , ,

the student has Of n ecess ity some d iff iculty i n


appreciating the th ird d imens ion p articu larly if ,

the illumination is n ot of the kind to make it


Obviou s ' b u t i n the three quarter view the third
-

dimension becomes a n equ al factor with the first



a n d se c on d in testi ng th e student s k no wledge .

In the front view it seems al l breadth in the p ro ,

file all thickness b ut in th e three quarter view he


,
-

may read ily see the rel ative b readth to thicknes s


of any p art of the body and note the great ,

cha n ges of thickness relatively to breadth and ,

the nature Of each as the forms chan ge from


,

shoulder to the lowest p art Of the body If i n .


,

add ition t o a three qu arter vie w the figure be


-
,

seen in a p os ition somewhat above the level of the


eye the n ature of the shap e of the grand d ivisions
,

may be more readily d iscerned A study and .

c o mp rehe n sio n of the horizontal se c tions of the


big masses is on e of the most important factors
i n the drawing of the nude It enables the stu .

de n t to u nderstand a f o rm a s a solid and suggests


the other s ide Of what he sees .
'

/7

PLA T E XXI V . C O N S T RU C T I O N O F S H O U L D E R S FR O N T
,

AN D B AC K .
CH AP T E R V I I I .

TH E TRU N K —FRON T AND BACK .

HE ne c k iss u es fr o m the u pp er plane of the


body com p rised within the sh o ulder girdle ,

the shoulder girdle b ein g c o mp osed of the head Of


the sternu m or breast b one the clavicles or collar
-
,

bones and the scapulas or shoulder blades


, A -
.

horizontal section of this region embrac ing all


'

the minor forms b ecomes an irregu lar oval The .

greatest variati o n in the back l ies in the d epres


s ion between the shoulder blades containi n g the
-

backbone a nd i n the fr on t in the fall ing back


, ,

step like Of the front pla n e of the shoulders


,

from the breadth Of the chest .

D escending fr o m the shoulder girdle to the


level of the arm p it a great change takes place in
-

the natu re of the horizontal section or shap e of


the mass .

The cagelike f o rm of the rib s becomes more


squ are as it d esce nd s and th is a n gu larity is
,

greatly increased by th e c u shionlike form of the


p ectoral mu scles i n front and the l atissimu s dors i
in the b ack so that the section becomes most
,

nearly square i n the th o rax in the region j ust


above the nipp les being somewhat wider in the
,

back than across the chest This should be d is .

t i n c tl y kept i n m ind for it cau ses the sides of the


,

body to face forward sl ightly .

The p ectoral mu scles have their origi n alo n g


the length of the sternum o r breast bone I n c rea s -
.

ing in thickness u ntil they reach a l ine from the


nipple to the arm p it they become l ike a heavy
-
,

cu shion In proportion as the pectoral s are thick


.

and marked so is the chest apt to be squ are in


,

horizontal section .
T H E H U MA N F I GU R E .

The l i n e fr o m the n i pp le to the arm p it f o rms -

the angl e separating the chest from the s ide Of


the body This line slop es back d iagonally as it
.

'

r ises to the front p lane of the sh o ulder The .

plane of the s ide Of the thorax p arts from the


plane of the chest at a sli ghtly obtu se a n gle It .

c on tains the arm p it formed by the th ickness of


-
,

the p ectoral in front and by the raised latissimu s


dors i behind .

The latiss imu s d o rs i a great triangular sheet


,

Of mu scle , rises from the l o wer central p art Of


the Sp ine and runs d ia g o n ally t o the arm p it rest -
,

ing with its bas e on the back and its apex


attached n ear the u pper e n d of the upp er bone of
the arm n ear the sid e of the body The h o rizon .

tal se c ti on o f the back o n a l ine with the nipples


, ,

is n o t u nlike th e back of the Sh o ulder g irdle ,

exce p t that the depress ion betwee n the shoulder


blades i s deeper The region of the chest i s th e
.

most an gu lar section o r p lane i n th e body and the ,

angu larity becomes emphasized whe n the lungs


are stron g ly inflated .

In P late XX V the body of th e erect female fi g


u re i s lighted t o Show the course of th e angle that
s ep arates the front from the s ide planes as it ,

travels its le ngth down the b ody B eginni n g with .

the ap ex of the shoulders imagine l ines d es c e n d


,

i n g to the n i p ples ' these with l ines from shoulder


t o should er and n ipple to n ipple e n cl o se the ge n
eral plane of the ches t This plane whe n the
.
,

body is erect a n d l u ng s well inflated s 10 p es ,

str o ngly o u tward It is wider a t the shou lders


.

than at the n ipples and contai n s the fr on t su r


fa c e of the shoulder the stepl ike rise t o the c hest
,

f o rmed by the p ect o rals A slight de p ressio n or


.

gro o ve r u ns o ver the len g th o f the ster n um ,

develop in g int o a l ittle d iamon d Shap e at its base ,

and this slight gr oo ve continues all the way t o


the n a vel sep arati n g the t w o halves of the b ody
, .

In the female the up p er p art o f the b re a sts


,

sho u l d be included i n the p la n e of the chest the ,

n i p ple fo rm ing the ap ex Of the p rotr u di n g breast ,

tend ing to give a stron g er o utward d irection to


TH E H U MA N F I GU R
TH E TRU NK — FRO NT A N D B AC K .
P LAT E XX V
.
—C O N S T R U CT I O N O F T O R S E F R O N T AN D
,
B AC K
.
CH AP T E R I X .

T H E TRU N K —BACK AND H IP S .

HE depression that ru ns from the p it of the


n eck down the length of the sternum and
abdomen to the nave' sep arating the two halves
,

of the body d istu rbs the big p lanes in the front


,

but slightly In the back however the su


. bdi
, ,

vis ion is much more marked The Sp ine of the .

backbone b eing subcutaneou s i s visible all the


, ,

way and marks th e d ivid ing l ine b etween the two


halves .

The sca p u las emb edde d i n a d ee p m ass of


,

muscle add fullness t o the back of the shoulders


,

o n either side of the sp ine g iving the a p p earance


,

o f the backbone b ei n g qu ite depressed .

In the region of t he sm a ll of the back ,

approache d b y the t ap eri ng form of the back o f


the thor a x the mass o f mu scle Of either s ide of
,

the Sp ine c ollectively con sidere d an d carrying out


the we d ge sh a p e i n the b ack stand s ou t a step ,

from the hi p s or b u ttress form on each s ide the ,

apex of the wedge d isa pp earin g b e t wee n the two


masses that c o nstitute t h e b utt ock The plane Of .

the buttock has its o rigi n i n the S i d es Of the but


tress form Of t he hip s t h at flank the wedge
shaped body the d ifference b etwee n front and
,

rear being that i n fro n t t he wed g e is v is ibl e all


,

th e way whil e in the b ack the b uttresses after


, ,

l eaving the crest Of the p elvis b ecome on e the , ,

surface over the sacrum b eing b ut sl ightly raised


from the fla t surface of t he back A t the base of .

the wedge t he buttock becomes subd ivided into


two rounde d masses forme d by the gluteus maxi
mu s mu scles .

The masses of th e hip s or b uttresses that flank


the s ides Of the lower p art of the body have their
TH E H U MAN FI GUR E .

origin at the n a rr o west p art of the b o dy the ,

waist beginning with the outward m p e o f the


,

great obl iqu e m u scles These mu scles termi n ate


.

with the crest of the p elvis b u t the thickness of


,

the mu scles cau ses the Sp ine or crest Of the pelvis


t o be d epressed so that the a ng le of separatio n
,

of the p lanes of the u p p er p a rt s of the b u ttresses

from the lower is above the crest of the p el v is .

This a n gle marks the first sta g e i n the widenin g


o f the body in the regio n of the hi p an d from ,

here on the planes desce nd by means of the


glute u s me d i u s p a rti ng less a b ru p tly fr om on e
,

an o ther du e to rou n d n ess of the mass tha n the


, ,

above to a p oint j u st above the gre a t tr o chanter


or head of the femu r .

O ver the troch a nter again the bone in the l i v


ing model is marked b y a d epression so that the ,

plane of the S ide of the thigh is n ot determined by


the angle that the b one makes in the skeleton but ,

by the fullness of the mu scl e j u st before its i n ser


tion into the ap oneu ros is or fascia lata to which


, ,

the mu scles Of the main p ortion of the buttress are


attached .

The rectu s is the forwar d plane or th ickness ,

the gluteu s mediu s the breadth over the h ip and ,

the gluteu s maximu s the thickness of the back .

The p lane of the b uttress at its greatest width j ust ,

below the h ip is n ot at right angles to the front


,

of the b ody b u t slo p es i nwar d to w


, ard the back ,

the breadth of the butt o ck n ot being as great as


th e bre a dth a c ros s the h ip s A horiz ontal sectio n
.

here is a d irect contrast to the section across the


chest at the nipples I n the latter se cti on the
.
,

s ides of the body fa ce forward i n p rop o rtion as


the body is broa d er across the back at the b ase of
the shou lder b la d es tha n at the chest whereas ,

across the hip s the b rea d th across the two thighs


is greater tha n across the b utto c k This a c counts .

for the s ide of the buttock b eing in shadow whe n


the fi gu re i s illuminate d d irectly fr o m the fr o nt ,

with the s ide of the thorax in the l ight .

In the fr on t Of the body th e buttresses fall


back a step from th e abdominal plane su ggesting ,
TH E T R U N K —B AC K A N D H I P S .

that as the abdominal wall stands ou


, t in adva n ce
of the s ide Of the buttress at i t s upp er end and ,

the lower p art of the buttress behi n d p rotru d es


beyond the small of the b ack the buttres s itself
,

mu st slop e fo rward fr o m bel o w u p S o that the


.

s ections o f the two p arts are by n o m ea ns directly


ab ov e on e a n other and the center of a section j u st
below the c rest of the p elvis will fall back c on
si d era b l y beh i n d a se c ti on a c ross the waist.
TH E H U MA N F I G U R E .
TH E H U MA N F I G U RE .
T H E T R U NK —B AC K AN D H I P S .
TH E H U MA N F I G U R E .
TH E H U MA N F I G U RE .
P LA T E X X V I . C O N S T RU C T IO N O F NE CK
.
P LA T E X X V I I . C O N S T R U C T IO N O F N E C K .
T H E H U MA N F I GU R E .

I n a g eneral way the form of the neck is c yl i n


d ri c a l thou gh it manifests more or less angular
,

ity of p lane p artic u larly in the male


, It ta p ers .

like a c olum n from the b ase up with a slight ,

swellin g i n the center of the S ides cau sed by the ,

fullness of the ster no cleido mastoid mu scle and


- -
,

i n fro n t by the A dam s apple .

A s the bas e of the skull i s h igher a t the back


th a n at th e ch in and j aw and the p it Of the throat
,

above the hea d of the sternum is lower tha n the


bas e Of the n eck at the b ack 'the vertebra prom i
n en s ) it is d iscovered that the p la n e Of contact of
the neck with the hea d is p arallel to that of its
c o n ta ct with the body both slop ing diago n ally
, ,

n ot qu ite at right angles with the d ire c tion of

the neck .

I n the fro n t view the s ides of the neck are


symmetrical structurally When i n action such .
,

as thr o wing the head b ack to one s ide or turned , ,

upo n the n eck thou g h the evide n ce of structural


,

symmetry remai n s the l i n es e n clos ing the form


,

are rad ically d ifferent I n the p r o file the lines


.

tha t e n close th e front and b ack v ary g reatly .

The front li n e is c onvex in the regio n of the



A dam s ap p l e while diagonally o p p os ite is the
,

deepest p ar t of the co n cavity of the back giving ,

t o t he whole form a s u pp le n ess so characteristic


of a well form ed n eck The b ody of the neck is
-
.

Shorter in the back than in the front and at i t s ,

connectio n with both body an d head flares out


ward making i t s connection th e more complete
, .

The tra p eziu s or the great n eck a nd shoulder


,

mu scles p roduce at their j u nc tion at the base of


,

the sk u ll the flat p lane of the n eck containing a


slight gu lly I n contrast to this dep ress ion and a t
.

the b ase Of th e b ack of the neck is fou nd the las t


cervical v erte b ra —the vertebra p rominens .

The t rap eziu s ris ing diagonally from the Sp ine


of the scapula or shoulder blad e immed iately
opposite the attachment of the deltoid su pp orts ,

the n e c k at its s ides with its b u ttresslike f o rms ,

giving it an appearance of great stren gth and


power an d connecting it intimately with the body .
N E C K T H R O A T AN D S H O U L D E R S
, .

The sterno cleido mastoid the mu scle th at


- -
,

pulls the head s idewise and turns it upon the


body p roduces the fullness upon the s ides of the
,

neck as it descends d iagonally from the s ide of


,

the b as e of the skull b ack o f the ear t o the, ,

sternum or b rea st b o n e a nd c la v icle 'for it sub


-

d ivides a tendon go i ng to each b one )


, A gu lly is .

formed i n the otherwis e full f o rmatio n of the


neck at the s ides between the trapez iu s an d the
mastoid which deep e n s into qu ite a hollow u po n
,

reachin g the c lav icle where th e bo n e makes a


,

reverse curve to mee t the shoulder blade a n d this -


,

depress ion contin u es b elow the c lavi c le and marks


the separation b etween the deltoi d the m a ss of ,

muscle that su rrounds the s h o ulder a nd t he ,

pectoral or mu scle of the chest .

I n fr o nt a t the b as e the co r d s of the mast o id


, ,

muscles become very evident wall i n g i n between ,

them the p it of the n eck ou t of whi c h rises the


,

mas s of the A dam s apple .

A sectio n of the n eck a c r o ss its u p per half



will disclose th e c o n vex p roj ectio n of the A dam s
appl e in front a n d a dep ressi o n i n the n ap e of the
neck behind while in th e lower half we fi n d a
,

dep ress io n i n the form of the p it of the n eck in


front an d a p roj ection made b y the vertebra
p rominens behind a reversal of incidents, .

In the regio n of the p it of th e neck are found


three kinds o f forms i n c lose c onj unction the ,

muscular tend inou s an d bony to the drawing


, ,

and re n deri ng o f which c arefu l attention Sh o u l d


be gi v e n If too bo ny th e forms will look hard
.
,

and a ttenu ated ' if t oo soft they will app ear c har
a c terl ess Note the o utward flare all arou nd its
.

base at the entra nc e o f throat into b ody wh ich ,

gives it a s ense of a t ta c hment su ggestive O f a ,

tree that g rows from the grou nd rather than a


p ole that punctures it .
P LA T E XX V II I .

C O N S T RU C T I O N O F N E CK AN D S H O U L D E R S .
CH AP T E R X I .

T H E S H OU LDER S A ND CH E ST .

E now come to the first articu lation Of the


body p roper that of the Shoulder
, Th e .

j u nc tio n of the humeru s the bone Of the arm , ,

w ith the scap ula and scap ula with clavicle should
, ,

be carefully stud ied to enable the student to com


p rehend the planes p resented in the li v i n g model .

P arts of these bones come well to the s u rface and ,

to be interp reted mu st be well u nderstood The .

cl avicle i s visibl e al o ng its whol e len gth pa rt i c u ,

l a rl y at the re v erse curv e a p p roaching the outer


end B elow it at this p oi n t is a depression wh ich
.

marks the separation of d eltoid or shoulder


muscle from the pectoral or muscle of the chest .

The j u nctio n of the clavicle a nd s c a p u la to o i s


qu ite visible and the hea d of the humeru s wh ich
, ,

forms the ap ex Of the shou lder asserts itself ,

beneath the deltoi d mu scle .

The clavicles and scapu las n early encircle the


re g i on of the shoulders enclos ing between them
,

the thickness Of the u p p er extremity of the body ,

the plane from out of wh ich the n ec k emerges .

This p lane rather elu des Observatio n b ecau s e o f


its d ivers ified nature Its surface faces upward
.

and somewhat forward h igher at th e back than


,

in front in keep ing with the d irection Of the bas e


,

o f the neck The p lane is broken by a triangu lar


.

hollow bounded by the lateral base of the neck in ,

front by the in n er border of th e clavicl e as th e


latter turns from the chest to the shoulder and at
the b ack by the trap ezius which acts as a buttres s
,

o n either sid e of the neck as it d escends t o the

shoulder This hollow is th e gu lly referre d to i n


.

the p reced ing chapter The p lane is flat and


.

n early horizontal at the shou lder but the remain ,


THE H U MA N F I GU RE .

der s 10 pes d ec idedly rising from th e p it of the


,

neck to the j uncture o f back Of neck and trap ez ius ,

its direction being about at right a n gles to the


axis of the neck .

The cone of the thorax or cage of ribs pnuc


tures th e shoulder girdle the r ibs of this conel ike ,

shap e app earing above it It is the d irection o f .

the first rib leaving the head of the sternum o r


,

breast bone j u st below the clavicle and ris ing to


-

the v ertebra prominens that gives decided d i r ec ,

tion t o the upper p lane of the body The con .

tou r of this upper p lane of the thorax is greatly


affected by the bones of th e shoulder girdl e and
assumes greater s ingu larity where they come to
the su rface The clavicle d escr ibes a revers e
.

curve ' c o m bi ned and in p osition they follow the


convexity of the cone of the thorax .

Comb ine d the c lavicles form a Cup id s bow



.
,

L eaving the plane of the chest the clavicle curves


b ackwar d following the ribs f or a short d istance
, ,

an d then revers ing its curvatu re extends laterally


from the bod y and j oins the scap ula and humerus
articulations wh ich form betwee n them the mass
o f the shoulder The scap ula is triangular and is
.

s lightly convex havi n g a Sp i n e d iagonally across


,

its upp er part which extends b eyon d it and curves


arou nd the outer end o f the clavicle to whi c h it is ,

attache d The two scapul as rep ose up on the r ibs


.

at th e tu rning p oint from back to s ide i n su ch ,

p os ition that a wide sp ace is left betwee n them i n ,

the center of which is foun d the sp ine .

B eginnin g with the neck as an el on gation Of


the co n e of the th o rax i t s section is circular with
, ,

fla ttene d S i d es A t t he entrance of n eck into


.

b ody we come u p on th e buttres s form of the


trap eziu s changin g the form of the section by a
,

broadening at the base of the n eck D escending .

to the region of the shoulder girdle the section ,

i n cludes the shou lders giving it mu ch greater ,

brea d th in prop ortion to depth The comi ng .

together of the clavicle and the Sp ine of the


s c ap ul a makes the p roj ectin g o r ep aulet form of
the shoulder which at the same time marks the
,
P LA T E XXI X . C O N S T RUC T I O N O F AR M .
CH AP T E R X I I .

T H E S H OU LDER AN D ARM .

HE deltoi d clothes the articulati o n of the shoul


der and forms with the p ectoral and l o ng
,

p ortion Of the triceps the mai n attachment of


,

the arm to the body Imagine the deltoid


.

d etached and flattened and it resembles an


,

i nverted arrowhead with its apex insert ed a third


of the way down the len g th Of the humeru s o n its

o u ter su rface between the b icep s and the tricep s '


,

the barbs rising an d enclosing between them the


,

j u nctu re Of clavicle and scap ul a t o whose outer ,

borders they are attached This attachment occu rs


.

immed iately opp os ite to that Of the trap ez iu s fr om


a bove .

The p ressure of the head of the humeru s


u n der the deltoid j u st below the j u nctio n of
,

scapula and clavicl e forms the outermost p oint of


,

t he shoulders and th e breadth of the shoulders


,

p roper lies between these p oints .

In comp aring th e p roportions of the sexes it ,

i s state d rather inaccu rately that the b ody of the


m ale is b roader at the shoulders than at the hip s ,

a n d that in the femal e this relati o nship of breadth

is reverse d. F rom th is we may infer that the


m ass of the deltoids enclosing the shou lder may
b e considere d as a p art Of the body inasmuch as ,

t hey establish its breadth Unlike the other parts


.

o f the trunk the shoulder is not rigid with it but


, .
, ,

on the contrary is c apable of great movement


, ,

and may be raised a n d lowered or thrown back ,

ward and forward In fact it is only in rep os e


.
,

that we feel the sh o ulders close rel ation to the


b ody ' but up o n th e least si gn of action in the


a rm, the mass of the sh o u lder immediately p ar
THE H U MA N F I GU R E .

t i c i pa t es
in it and becomes in t u rn a p art of the
len gth of the arm .

The mass o f the deltoid and its bony stru cture


within plays the double fu nction Of belonging to
the body in establish ing its length the head of ,

the humeru s formi n g the angle where the length


of the arm begins and b readth of the shoulders
terminates .

In the drawing Of the arm after n otin g its ,

general p rop ortion that i s its average thickness


, ,

in prop ortion to length and the mass of the d el


,

t oi d located at its h ighest point wh ich p oint is on ,

a line with the arm p it O bserve the degree of


-
,

tap er that extends from the greatest thickness at


the shoulders to the wrist The taperi n g in a.

fleshy arm i s more rap id than in the slight on e ,

becau se the ad ipose i s n ot d istributed equally


along its len gth the th ickness of the wrist vary
,

ing but little with the a c cretion In the arm of a .

sl i g ht youth this tapering i s most subtle a nd


taxes the utmost Skill of the tra ined artist .

H aving noted the tapering f orfn of the arm as


a whole it will b e d iscovered that each part o f
,

the arm in turn tap ers from above down thu s ,

p roducing the general t aper i n th e arm as a


whole I n detail irrespe c tive O f p oint of view
.
, ,

the u pp er arm from the a p ex of the shoulder


attains its greatest width or t h i c kness in the
fleshy re g io n of the delt o id In the strongly .

developed arm the form is firmly marked ' in the


sl ight on e it i s only d eli c ately m a rked by an out
war d d irecti o n from the ap ex of the shoulder to
the most p r o mi n ent p oi n t of the deltoid the ,

beginning Of the len gth of the arm .

F rom the detachme n t O f the arm from the


b o dy at the arm p it j u st opposite its greatest
,
-
,

fullness at the deltoid the arm d iminishes gradu


,

ally i n width to the elbow ' this however is more , ,

noticeable in the p rofile than i n the front view .

The fleshy mass of the forearm n e a r the elbow


widens in excess of the b rea d th Of the u pper arm
and in t u rn d iminishes in width t o the wrist In .

the well devel o ped and hardened arm the pl anes


TH E H U MA N F I GU RE .
P LA T E x x x . C O N S T RU C T I O N OF ARM
.
P LA T E X XXI . C O N S T R U C T I O N O F AR M A N D HAN D .
T H E H U MA N F I G U RE .

to give the feel ing of attachment In sup ination .

the forearm is at an obtu se angle t o the upp er and ,

the forearm is thrown slightly away from the


body With the arm in that p os ition front view
.
, ,

note the direction of the p rincip al masses .

As Observed above at the shoulder the deltoid


,

slop es outward in excess Of the upp er arm Ju st .

before its insertion it makes a return curve and ,

this inward slop e i s rep eated by the upper and


inner p art of the tricep s which forms the inner ,

mass of the arm and fills as it were the arm p it , ,


-
.

The mass Of the shou lder proj ects l ike a ledge


beyond the body with the arm inserted into i ts
,

u nder surface and the center of the p oint of


,

attachment comes a trifle inside Of the center of


the shoulder .


The student s intention should be to convey in
his drawing the great masses of form ' i n the
arm he should l ook f or long lines that will convey
,
'

the true p rop ortions of the d imens ions as a ffected


by action It is d iff i cult at first not to stop at the
.

elbow in drawing the above the sup inated pos i ,

tio n of the arm ' therefore I nstea d Of stopp ing at ,

the inner condyle draw a l ine from the arm p it to


,
-

the greatest fullness in the forearm well below th e


elbow Give this line a Slight convexity its g reat
.
,

est curvature touch ing upon the condyle .

The subd ivis ions along the outer b o rder are


more nu merou s and n o d ifficulty will be fou nd i n
,

conveying the location of the elbow j oint if thes e


masses and s u bd ivis ions are truly related Con .

tinning along the outer border from the inward


d irection of the deltoid the line runs nearly p ar
,

allel with the inner l ine the t w o lines enclosing,

between them the shaft of the upper arm ' but the
outer d iff ering from the inner line falls short Of
, ,

the elbow and is intercepted by the raised form


,

of the sup inator longus The sup inator rises .

from the shaft as the delt o id falls to it ' th e


depresse d border the outer edge of the triceps
, ,

b etween them gives appearance of a concavity in


the outer form Of the arm i n c o ntrast to the con
v ex i t y of the inner .
T H E ARM W R I S T A N D HA N D
, .

It will be noticed also that the m o st p rom inent


p oint of the deltoid i s a l ittle lower than the arm
p it and that the fullest p oint of the sup inator i s
higher than the greatest fullness of the inner
border below the elbow L ines drawn throu gh
.

these points will be fou nd t o cross the ce n tral


d irection or axis Of the arm n early at right angles .

F rom the fullest p oint along the inner border the


l ine runs qu ite s moothly to the wrist but along the ,

outer the decrease of the thickness of the sup ina


t or mu st b e noted before reaching the l ine of th e
wrist .

The arm hold ing scroll gives a good idea of th e


sweep that ru ns throu gh the center of it intensi ,

fi ed by the action .

A gain in the p rofile the mass of the deltoid


, ,

the d irection of which may be marked by a line


drawn from the c enter of the sh o u lder above to
the central point at level with the arm p it leans -
,

forwar d sl ightly in accord with the forward


,

m o vement of the mass that r ises a b ove the scapula


a s it melts into the n eck The line that marks
.

the j unctio n with body is a l ittle higher at th e


back than at the front b ein g at right angles to
,

the d irection of the deltoid or shoulder This .

gives the appearance of firmly attachi n g the arm


to the body .

The shaft Of the u pper arm that p ort ion of ,

the arm containing the bicep s and tricep s located ,

between the deltoi d an d sup inat o rs 'the fleshy


fullness over the outs ide of elbow j oi n t ) falls in -

from the shoulder th a t is its c enter is no t imme


, ,

d i a t el y u nder the center of t he shou lder .

When in action the many p arts Of the arm


Show their intimate interrelation to one another .


A n artist s arm may almost be in rep ose only the ,

finger tip s b eing u sed in exe cuting some d eft touch ,

but the n ext moment the action includes the whol e


l en gth of the fingers th e wrist elbow i n cluding
, , ,

the act of p ronation o r sup ination and finally ,

the shoulder . H e may make a master stroke


requ iring a sweep from the shoulder but each ,

j oint each set Of mu scles to the sens itive finger


,
T H E H U MA N F I GU RE .

tip s le n ds its a i d t o g i v e t o the s u pp le m o vement


,

Of his stroke the d es ired character and quality S O .

i n a drawing every p art of the hand and arm


,

mu st be i n character both in form and action .

No matter how definitely the f o rms may b e dis


tin g u i shed by name location Shap e and propor
, , ,

tions they mu st in p ractice interrelate u nder the


,

su rface of the continu ou s skin sometimes p ar ,

t i a l l y lost through a connecting cu rve sometimes ,

accented by abrupt angularity but always con ,

n ec t ed .

The arm mu st never look as if p inioned su g ,

g est i n g that it can only move p arallel t o the side


Of the body The elbow in the flexed arm sh o u l d
.

n ot su ggest throu g h i t s irregularity that the arm

h a s been broken in order to locate it The .

Olecranon or p oint Of the el b ow shoul d b e f o u nd


, ,

u nder the center of the shaft Of the upper arm


whe n the forearm i s flexed up o n the upp er and ,

not on a l i n e with the back of the arm This con .

ti n ues the se n se of co nnecti on .


P LAT E X XXI I . C O N S T R U C T I O N O F HAN D .
TH E HAN D AN D WRI ST .

than near the wrist and thicker at the wrist than


,

near the fingers .

The back of the hand i s qu ite flat except when


the hand i s clenched thou gh it assumes c on si d ,

er a b l e convexity upon connection with wrist ' the

palm on the contrary is l ike a shallow bowl with


, ,

squ ared s ides well cu shione d on both sides near


,

the wrist .

Collectively the fingers tap er an d th e tip of ,

the middle finger the longest forms the ap ex o f


, ,

the mass E ach finger tap ers in itself with a ten


.

d en c y to converge toward th e m iddle finger ,

thou gh when the hand is in action the middle and


th ird fingers are incl ined to go together In the .

act of clench ing the hand the finger ends point to


a common c enter .

The length of the first j oint of the fingers i s


equal to the tw o remaining ones but the palm ,

exte n ds half way u p the len gth Of the first j oint ,

giving the appearance on the inside Of the fingers


of all the j oints being of eq u al len g th .

The whole len gth of the thumb is equ al to the


length Of the middle finger measured outside and , ,

reaches to the m i dl e j oint Of the first finger The .

body Of the thum b is much heavier tha n that of


the fingers and u nl ike them does n ot taper except
, ,

the last j oint .

The sections of the fingers are more square


than would seem thou gh the last j oint containing
, ,

the nail is qu ite triangu lar the nail with the


, ,

flesh on either s ide forming the base and the sensi


tive cu shion on the underside the apex F rom .

the fact that the hand contains so many p arts and


is capable Of an infinite variety Of actions an d i s ,

so varied in character 'f or hands are n o more


alike than faces ) the student will read ily see the
imp orta nce of being familiar with its construe
tion.
TH E H U MA N F I GU R E
P LA T E XXX I II . C O N S T R U C T I O N O F LE G .
CH AP T E R X V .

TH E L EG .

HE de gree Of tap er in the leg as com p ared with


the arm is greater as the leg at the thigh is
, ,

heavier compared with the ankle than the upper


, ,

arm compared with the wrist In a general way .


,

the changes that mark the d iminishing widths are


n ot diss imilar .The arm tap ers Sl ightly t o the
elbow ' the leg in p rop ortion as it i s heavier
, ,

tapers more rap idly to the knee ' the mass of th e


calf more rap idly in p roportion as the calves are
,

heavier than the mu scles o f the forearm In the .

leg too the alternation of flesh an d bone are more


, ,

noticeable than in the arm .

It will be observed that whe n the leg receives


the weight Of the body the knee i s p ulled back
, .

A reverse cu rve ru ns throu gh its entire length ,

from tru nk to ankle the knee forming the point


,

of reversal The femu r o r bone Of th e upp er l eg


.

describes a cu rve with its convex s id e d irected


forward ' this convex curve is intensified by th e
great mass Of the rectu s femori s mu scle in fron t
and by the correspond ing concavity at the back ,

made by th e overhanging Of th e buttock 'the


g luteus maximus ) above and the p roj ecting calf
,

below ' there is a local fullness on the back Of the


thigh made by the bicep s but in no way so con ,

S pi c uous as to interfere with this general ization .

The bony mass of the kn ee i s the p ivot up on


wh ich the cu rve reverses If the convex cu rve of
.

the thigh is described from its attachment to the


level of the base o f the knee so th e concave ,

reverse curve of the lower leg begins on a level


with the top of the knee and descends with a for
ward sweep into the instep In the outl ine Of the .

front Of the lower part Of the leg which corre ,


T H E H U MAN F I GU R E .

sp on d s t o the revers e curve described , there is a


local fullness made by the crest Of the tibia over
lapped by the tibialis anticu s mu scle ' but care
should be taken n ot t o make it over consp icuou s -
,

or the concave effect made by the overhanging


knee and the forward sweep of the ankle will be
lost Naturally the convexity of th e calf Opp osite
.
,

the deepest p art of the forward line completes th e


sp irit o f the reverse curve .

The interlacing of the parts Of the leg is well


illu strated in the forward p art of the thigh
descend ing to the lower p art of the leg by means
of the knee p an and terminating with the kneel
-

ing point ' on th e other hand on the back the ,

mass of the calves enters the upp er p art of the


leg on a le v el with the upp er border of the knee
'

p an A s thes e structural masses interlace so do


.
,

the planes that come into existence through them .

In the front V iew th e attachment of the legs


,

to the body is marked b y d iagonal d ivision lines


descending on each s id e from the crest of the iliac
or p elvic bone to the p ub ic arch wedging between ,

them the lower abdominal mass The inner b or .

der o f the leg is broken by m inor forms whi c h


deviate but slightly from a straight line It is in .

the outer border that the large changes are fou nd ,

beginning with the long line from the head Of the


femu r to the k n ee continu ing with th e l ine to the
,

widest p art of the calf and thence with the l ine


,

t o the f o ot . S uch s imple l ines enclose the great


m a sses a n d mark th e degree of tap er .

In detail the thigh as it des c e n ds tends


, , ,

slightly i nward to about two th irds its length -


,

whe n it makes a greater inward tu rn to the knee .

The mass of the knee takes an Oppos ite direction ,

d iminish i n g slightly in width as i t als o does in


,

profile .

The c res t of the tibia coming well to the su r

face des c ends from the k n eelin g point making an ,

inward sweep as it forms the inner ankle P artly .

in front of the fibula 'the outer bone of the lower


p art of the leg ) th e mass of the calves envelop es
the s ides and b ack Of the bones wideni n g rapidly ,
P LA T E XXX I V
. C O N ST RU C T I O N O F LE G A N D F O O T .
THE LEG .

greatly to the ankl e ' then follows the angle of the


upl ifted heel to the sole of th e foot and from there
the line tapers to the toes .

When the lower leg is flexed up on the upper ,

the bony mass of the knee becomes much more


evident the lower end o r condyles of the femu r
,

showing plainly on each Side of the p atella or


knee cap ' the latter thou gh visible becau se the
-
,

skin is tautly stretched over it S inks p art ially into ,

the groove of th e lower end o r condyles o f th e


femu r B oth condyles are in evidence as well as
.
,

the head of the fibul a which shows very plainly


,

j ust below the outer condyle .

I n the profile both the upper and lower l eg


retain their convex and concave cu rvature irre
sp ec t i v e o f th e action thou gh the s inking of the
,

kneep an makes the c onvex ity of the upper p art Of


the tibia somewhat consp icuous This reversal of .

the arched form of the pa rts Of the leg Should b e


given sp ec ial attention for unless the qual ity of
, ,

s u ppleness Of movement be app reciated the forms ,

will b e mad e sti ff and rigid The p art s fu se so


.

g racefully into one another that any stiffness of


acti on immed iately su ggests oss ification of the
p art. F or instance it ha s been seen that the
,

thigh cu rves with its convex side forward ' the


lower leg on the contrary has its convex side at its
fullest in the calf at the back .

The contr o ll ing movement Of the leg is m arked


by the s imple front line It is most convex a l ittle
.

a b ove the center Of the thigh and most concave a


trifle below the kneeling p oi n t whe n the leg is ,

straight .

The back surface of the thigh i s su nken


between the lower part of the back and the calf ,

a n d hence combined with them describes a con


cavity as Opposed to the convexity o f the front ,

keep in g the Sp irit of actio n intact H owever this .


,

does not signify that th e local full n ess in back of


thigh should remain u nnoticed ' on the contrary ,

it should be ins isted Upon ' but remember it is


only a local form and does n ot comp ete in impor
,

tance with the fullness in front I n the lower l eg .


THE H U MA N F I GU RE .

the reverse Of the thigh cu rvature co n tr o ls ' the


fullness on the tibia should not comp ete with the
much greater fullness of the calf at the back for ,

if it does it inevitably results in stiffness


, .

A gain the entrance of leg into th e foot by


,

means of the ankle deserves much attention In .

the p rofil e it will be noted that the rounded form


,

o f the ankle enters the foot well back Of its center

and at a slightly obtu se rather than a right a n gle .

In a word the main d irection Of the leg up o n its


,

entrance into the foot i s forward or outward ,

thereby throwing th e weight of the b ody rather


upon th e arch than the heel alone S pringiness
.

and suppleness are the great c haracteristics of this


p art of the body for it is th is a rticulation that
,

p ermits of the most graceful as wel l as the most


vigorou s action in the body and if the least stiff
,

ness p revails it can n ot but affect the whole action .

I n th e front view t oo the leg do es not set


, ,

squarely above the foot but rather a l ittle to th e


,

outs ide of the center of it a nd e n ters it gracefully


,

by means of the a nkle .


TH E H U MA N F I G U R E .
P LAT E XXX V . C O N S TR U C T I O N O F FO O T .
T H E H U MA N F I GU RE .

the e n trance of leg into foot to the toes is i n the ,

main trian gu lar ' its inner border rou nding


rather abruptly into the s ide of the fo o t its base ,

l ine slop es backward in degree as the l ittle toe is


set back of the big toe The outer surface Slopes .

in rap idly from the base toward the ankle and


outer edge of the upp er su rface the tw o su rfaces ,

melting into one another near the l ittle toe .

There n ow remains the su rface of the back Of


the heel This plane is widest at its base ta p er
.
,

ing slightly upward and more rap idly as the heel


is j oined t o the A chilles cord which connects the ,

heel with the leg The location of the entrance of


.

the leg into the foot as s een in the profile is n ote


, ,

worthy i h that it i s well back Of the center Of the


,

arch ' second when the foot receives the weight


,

of the body the leg does n ot enter it at right


,

angles to the sole A sense of flexibility and elas


.

t i c i t y should characterize the articul ation of the


ankle otherwise the form will app ear stiff and
,

ossifi ed .

Aline draw n throu gh the center Of the le g as


it enters the foot should lead the eye into the for
ward p art of the foot at an obtu se angle follow ,

ing the cu rve o f the ankle as it enters the instep .

This app earance throws the weight of the body


upon the curve Of the arch j u st back Of th e cen ,

ter throwing the p ressure to the ball of the foot


,

diagonally across the arch rather than to th e ,

heel In j ump ing the ball Of the foot receives the


.
,

imp act n ot the heel In the extended foot when


, . ,

seen in p rofile the arch of the instep becomes con


,

tin uou s with the forward line of the le g leaving ,

it with a d elicate reverse curve In this actio n . ,

the angl e Of the heel to the l e g i s the more p ro


n oun c ed in p roportion I n such an action the ball
.

of the foot aide d b y the mass of the toes receives


, ,

the e n tire wei gh t of t he bod y .


E FOO T .
TH E H U MA N F I GU R E .
P LAT E XXX V I . C H ARC O AL D RAW I N G O F F E MALE
FI GU R E
.

BY J H V A N DER POE L
. . .
CH AP T E R X V I I .

T H E F I GURE AS A W H O LE .

N the beginning of a drawing of the entire


figu re it i s interesting to note how secondary
,

the component p arts become in their relation to


the whole N ot that their valu e beauty delicacy
.
, ,

o r strength have d iminished but relatively they


,

n ow assume a less impos ing aspect ' they now


truly take their p lace as subordinate to that vital
qual ity which holds our first attention when we
behold a beautifu l figu re i n actio n .

In the infinite variety of action of which th e


human figure i s cap able the minor p arts fu se into
,

the greater in the most subtle manner leav ing u s ,

in doubt as to the moment of sep aration or as to


which is the more important for pictorial use S O .

the l ines th at encompas s the smaller p arts melt


into the larger and become p art of them This is .

tru e of every degree of form from the minutest


,

detail to th e largest mass ' each form becomes a


part of something larger than itself E ven a .

form than wh ich locally none is more imp ortant


, ,

may b e S O submerged in a strong action as to lose


all or a great p art of its importance .

The detail of the un d er line of an upraised


arm may be dom inated by its becoming continu
ou s with the line of the s ide of the body ' the line
of the back of the n ec k when the head lean s
slightly forward continues with the plane Of the
shoulder and becomes on e with it In this man .

ner planes and lines no matter what the action


, ,

or the direction of the illu mination are extended ,

from the trunk or bo d y to the arms legs and neck ,


.

The p rofile of a s imp le figu re stand ing erect ,

hands beh ind the back or hanging at the side


, ,

chin down head and should ers back chest out


, , ,
THE H U MA N F I G U R E .

stomach in and heels together is an attitu de and ,

view interesting to study ' note the relation of


p arts as the masses rise one above the other from
,

the feet up I n such a p ose the head and neck are


.
,

on a line having a Slightly forward tendency ' the


,

thorax or upp er p art of tru nk from the false ribs


up s 10 pes backward while the lower p art Of the ,

trunk and legs collectively are on a line which


leans well forwar d from the feet u p This sub
d ivides the figure into three masses —the upp er
.
,

term inates at the plane Of the shoulders the sec ,

on d at the d iagonal line Of the false ribs th e ,

remainder and by far the largest terminates


, ,

with the feet These three masses are so d isposed


.

in their d iagonal relation to On e another as to p ro


duce p erfect equ ilibrium the straight line which ,

rises vertically from the in step tou ches the knee ,

cap passes j u st behind the head Of the femu r


, ,

through the p it Of the neck and thence through


the center Of the hea d The bony angle of th e .

false ribs as seen in the p rofile j u st below the


chest marks the most advanced p art of the figure ,

and overhangs all the lower p art when stand ing .

In the female the apex of the breast however


, , ,

extends beyond it .

The mal e figure is widest at the deltoid across


the shoulders and tapers gently to the feet A s
,
.

in the arm and leg the body t oo tapers i n sec, , ,

tions F rom the greatest width across the shoul


.

ders the upper p art of the body or thorax d imin


,

ishes in width from the shoulders to the waist


only to widen again first to the crest of the pelvis
,

and then to the head Of the femur from thence ,

the le g s collectively taper rap idly to the knee s ,

here the form widens to the calves and d iminishes


again rap idly to the ankles .

I t is well to recall here that the two s ides Of


the body are symmetrical and one of the greate st ,

charm s in the study of drawing l ies in tracing this


symmetry throu gh all kinds of actions and fore

shorten ing .

The stu dy Of relations an d its significance in


arriving at proportions Should be given the first
P LA T E XX X V I II
. C HA RC O A L D RA W I N G O F F E MAL E T O R S E ,

S E P ARA T I N G F R O N T F R O M S ID E T H R O U G H S T R O N G
L I G H T A N D S HA D E .

BY J H V A N DE R PO E L
. . .
T H E F I GU R E A S A W H O L E .

attention in seeking the place f or the p art before


,

the part itself shall occupy his attention DO .

n ot draw the part p erfectly u ntil its p roper place

and relative p roportions have been secured ' its


len gth breadth and thickness should first be
,

determ ined in their relation to the whole figu re .

A n u nderstand ing of th e u s e and location of


j oints marking as they do the separation of
,

important parts is apt to disturb the beginner


,

greatly ' the temptation is t o halt at a j oint as if ,

it were a half way hou se from wh ich t o p repare


-

for another form .

If in the drawing of a p art it is su fli c i en t that


the location of a j oint be conveyed on one s id e
only it i s equ ally sufficient in the early stages Of
,

bu ild ing up a figure as a whole to mark the local


form or action on one side and convey through ,

the Oppo s ite l ine the b i g swing or movement that


characterizes the pose .

A s in the m atter Of m inor form s or planes


being submerged in larger ones so mu st the ,

movement of minor p arts be absorbed temp orarily


in the great action that expresses the spirit Of the
p ose.

The p ose p roportions and construction Of th e


,

figu re shou ld receive ou r first attention and be ,



placed to a hair s breadth as it were thou gh in a
-
, ,

sketchy way b efore the p arts themselves are


,

an alyzed .

I n composing and working from memory o r


imagination as well as from life with a vivid ,

mental p ictu re in ou r vision it seems almost ,

imposs ible that other t han the sal ient l ines that
emphas ize the movement and the great planes that
envelop the substance should b e our first obj ect
in beginning t he dra wing but only the ex pe ,

r i en c ed know the danger an d fascinatio n Of being

lu red int o t he ex p ressio n of ins ign ifi c ant detail .


P LA T E X X X IX —C H ARC O AL D R A WI N G O F F E M A L E T O R S E
.
,

S H O W I N G W E D G E FO R M A T I O N A N D S U P P O R T I N G
BU TT R E S S
.

BY J H V A N DER POE L
. . .
TH E H U MA N F I G U R E .
F I GU R E A WHOLE .
TH E H U MA N F I G UR E .
TH E H U MA N F I GU R E .
P LA T E X L I C H ARC O AL D RA WI N G O F F E M AL E FI GU RE
FR O M LI FE .

BY N ED H AD LE Y .
PLA T E X L I I . C HAR C O AL D RA WI N G O F M ALE FI GU RE
FRO M LI FE .

BY E LI ' A B E T H L A N E .
PLATE XLI V . CHARC O AL D RA W I N G O F M A L E F I G U R E
F RO M LI FE .

BY N . P . W . S W A N S ON .
P LA T E X LV . CH ARC O AL D R A WI N G O F F E M ALE F I G U RE
FROM LIF E .

BY BE LLE S I L VE I RA .
P LA T E X LV I . C H ARC O A L D RA W I NG O F F E MA L E T O R S E
FROM LIFE .

B Y LOUI S E PERRETT.
P LA T E X L VI II
. P E N CI L D RAW I N G O F F E MAL E T O R S E ,

S H O W I N G F R O N T O F W E D G E AN D B U T T RE S S I N
S H AD O W
.

BY J H V A N DERPOEL
. . .
PLA T E P L A T E S L L I L II L III L I V CHARC O AL
, , , , ,

D RA W I N G S F O R M U RAL PA I N T I N G ,

T H E V I N T A G E F E S T I VA L
' '
.

BY J . H . V A N D ER P O E L .
P LA T E L I I .

You might also like