Drawing the Figure (Part 1)

This online class uses examples from master artists of the past—the ancient Greeks, the Italian Renaissance Masters, the Neoclassical Movement—to learn how to draw the figure. We will take inspiration from a range of examples in different artistic fields (drawing, sculpture, painting) to improve our own artistic practice and ways of understanding the figure.

This course shows you how to use the works of (e.g.) Praxiteles, Raphael, Caravaggio, or Canova as a base to improve your own drawings, concentrating on elements of style, form, anatomical detail, materials, shading and composition. Through exercises and demos, you will learn to understand the techniques of master artists of the past and how to translate these skills into your own works. Our aim is not simply to copy these works, but to understand more deeply the anatomical structures of the body, how they fit together, and the language of drawing in order to develop your own style.