Complete Guide to Drawing from Life

It's rare to find good, comprehensive books on drawing the anatomy. Each of these the first, the return of a classic; the second, a focused study; and the third, lessons from the masters deserves a place on library shelves. Bridgman was a legendary teacher at New York's Art Students' League. There, he originated a system of drawing known as "constructive anatomy." In 1952, his seven books on anatomy were gathered into one volume, which became a standard work at art schools and universities. Published now for the first time in paperback, it holds up as an indispensable volume, with more than 200 illustrations of hands and hundreds of images of arms, shoulders, heads, torsos, legs, knees, and feet. Fairley's book concentrates on those troublesome extremities hands and feet. Sketchbook exercises are followed by eight detailed painting demonstrations in watercolor, oil, and other media. Fairley then continues on to portraits in which variations in age, skin tone, composition, mood, and movement are integrated. Advanced students will find Hale and Coyle's Anatomy Lessons from the Great Masters a rich source of inspiration. Hale, like Bridgman, was one of the great teachers at the Art Students' League. His student, Coyle, gathered together Hale's famous lectures to produce this compendium. Hale drew on principles found in 100 masterpieces by such artists as Leonardo, Michelangelo, Rubens, Raphael, Dürer, Titian, and Rembrandt. In 1995, Giovanni Civardi's trilogy Drawing Human Anatomy (Sterling, 1995), Drawing the Female Nude (Sterling, 1995), and Drawing the Male Nude (LJ 3/15/96. o.p.) reached a high standard for good, basic books in this genre. These three surpass Civardi's works and are highly recommended for serious artists and comprehensive library collections.