Anatomy Lessons From the Great Masters

by Robert Beverly Hale

  Anatomy Lessons

  FROM THE

  Great Masters

  BY ROBERT BEVERLY HALE AND TERENCE COYLE

  WATSON-GUPTILL PUBLICATIONS/NEW YORK

  Paperback edition © 2000

  Copyright © 1977 by Watson-Guptill Publications

  First published in 1971 in the United States and Canada

  by Watson-Guptill Publications,

  an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group,

  a division of Random House, Inc., New York

  www.crownpublishing.com

  www.watsonguptill.com

  Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

  Hale, Robert Beverly

  Anatomy lessons from the great masters.

  Bibliography: p.

  Includes index.

  1. Anatomy, Artistic. I. Coyle, Terence,

  joint author. II. Title.

  NC760.H27 1977 743′.4 77-12810

  ISBN-13: 978-0-8230-0281-8

  ISBN: 0-8230-0281-0

  eBook ISBN: 978-0-307-78644-9

  Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-0-8230-0281-8

  All rights reserved.

  Cover design by Bob Fillie, Graphiti Design, Inc.

  Edited by Bonnie Silverstein

  Designed by Bob Fillie

  v3.1

  Acknowledgments

  We wish to thank all the people and institutions who aided us in the survey and gathering of the master prints for this book. Special thanks are due to Jacob Bean, Curator of Drawings, and to the staff of the Department of Drawings of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

  We are most thankful to our editor, Bonnie Silverstein, for her patience and skill and, above all, we gratefully acknowledge the sound advice and guidance from the beginning of this book to its completion of Don Holden, Editorial Director of Watson-Guptill.

  CONTENTS

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Acknowledgments

  Introduction

  Preface

  1 THE RIB CAGE

  Vertebral Column, Landmarks

  Rib Cage, Anterior Aspect

  Rib Cage, Posterior Aspect

  Rib Cage, Lateral Aspect

  External Oblique

  Rectus Abdominis

  Muscles of Back and Shoulder Girdle

  Pectoralis Major, Male

  Pectoralis Major, Female

  2 THE PELVIS AND THIGH

  Structural Points, Anterior Aspect

  Structural Points, Posterior Aspect

  Structural Points, Lateral Aspect

  Muscles, Anterior Aspect

  Muscles, Posterior Aspect

  Muscles, Medial Aspect

  Gluteus Maximus

  Gluteus Medius

  Tensor Fasciae Latae

  Sartorius

  Quadriceps

  Adductor Group

  Hamstring Group

  3 THE KNEE AND LOWER LEG

  Knee, Anterior Aspect

  Knee, Posterior Aspect

  Knee, Lateral Aspect

  Knee, Medial Aspect

  Lower Leg, Anterior Aspect

  Lower Leg, Posterior Aspect

  Lower Leg, Lateral Aspect

  Lower Leg, Medial Aspect

  Lower Leg, Flexion, Lateral Aspect

  Lower Leg, Flexion, Medial Aspect

  4 THE FOOT

  Structural Points, Lateral Aspect

  Structural Points, Medial Aspect

  Structural Points, Superior Aspect

  Structural Points, Inferior Aspect

  Muscles, Lateral Aspect

  Muscles, Medial Aspect

  Muscles, Superior Aspect

  Extension and Adduction

  Flexion and Abduction

  5 THE SHOULDER GIRDLE

  Clavicle

  Scapula

  Trapezius

  Rhomboids

  Infraspinatus

  Teres Major

  Latissimus Dorsi

  Pectoralis Major

  Deltoid

  Landmarks, Anterior Aspect

  Landmarks, Posterior Aspect

  Sternoclavicular Articulation, Elevation and Lowering

  Sternoclavicular Articulation, Forward and Back

  Acromioclavicular Articulation, Forward and Back

  Acromioclavicular Articulation, Up and Down

  6 THE ARM

  Axilla, Arm in Flexion

  Axilla, Arm in Vertical Elevation

  Biceps Brachii, Anterior Aspect

  Biceps Brachii, Lateral Aspect

  Flexion

  Triceps, Posterior Aspect

  Triceps, Lateral and Medial Aspect

  Extension

  Lower Arm, Anterior Aspect

  Lower Arm, Posterior Aspect

  Lower Arm, Lateral Aspect

  Lower Arm, Medial Aspect

  Pronation

  Supination

  Demipronation

  Forced Pronation

  7 THE HAND

  Muscles and Bony Landmarks, Anterior Aspect

  Muscles and Bony Landmarks, Posterior Aspect

  Muscles and Bony Landmarks, Lateral Aspect

  Muscles and Bony Landmarks, Medial Aspect

  Extension

  Flexion

  Adduction

  Abduction

  8 THE NECK AND HEAD

  Neck, Anterior Aspect

  Neck, Posterior Aspect

  Neck, Lateral Aspect

  Neck, Extension

  Neck, Flexion

  Neck, Rotation

  Neck, Lateral Inclination

  Constructed Head

  Head, Anterior Aspect

  Head, Lateral Aspect

  The Eye

  The Nose

  The Mouth

  The Ear

  Emotions: High Spirits to Laughter

  Emotions: Contempt to Disgust

  Emotions: Attention to Horror

  Emotions: Reflection to Grief

  Emotions: Defiance to Rage

  Proportions

  9 ANATOMICAL REFERENCE PLATES

  Plate 1: The Skull

  Plate 2: The Skull

  Plate 3: Skeleton of the Trunk

  Plate 4: Skeleton of the Trunk

  Plate 5: Skeleton of the Trunk

  Plate 6: Vertebral Column

  Plate 7: The Pelvis

  Plate 8: Bones of the Upper Limb

  Plate 9: Bones of the Upper Limb

  Plate 10: Bones of the Lower Limb

  Plate 11: Bones of the Lower Limb

  Plate 12: Bones of the Lower Limb

  Plate 13: Bones of the Foot

  Plate 14: Muscles of the Head

  Plate 15: Muscles of the Head

  Plate 16: Muscles of the Neck

  Plate 17: Muscles of the Trunk and Neck, Posterior Region

  Plate 18: Muscles of the Trunk and Neck, Posterior Region

  Plate 19: Muscles of the Trunk and Head

  Plate 20: Muscles of the Trunk and Head

  Plate 21: Muscles of the Trunk and Head

  Plate 22: Muscles of the Upper Limb

  Plate 23: Muscles of the Upper Limb

  Plate 24: Muscles of the Upper Limb

  Plate 25: Muscles of the Upper Limb

  Plate 26: Muscles of the Lower Limb

  Plate 27: Muscles of the Lower Limb

  Plate 28: Muscles of the Lower Limb

  Plate 29: Muscles of the Lower Limb

  Plate 30: Muscles of the Foot

  Suggested Reading

  About the Authors

  Index

  INTRODUCTION

  When I wrote Drawing Lessons from the G
reat Masters, I tried to explain to laymen or beginners (after all, they are the same thing) that the creation of a first-class drawing requires a wealth of information, as well as much prior practice and application. I pointed out that the techniques necessary were no mystery, since they had all been worked out through the years—at times by some of the greatest minds in history. I tried to show that a good drawing consists of an understanding of techniques and conventions, and that these techniques and conventions were all interdependent, one upon the other. Furthermore, I stated that these elements were invariably present in the works of all first-rate artists, though not too apparent to the layman’s eye, for it evidently takes much practice in drawing before these qualities can be readily recognized. Finally, I suggested that after the student had had a certain amount of experience, the drawings of the masters made by far the best teachers, and would graciously provide answers to all problems—assuming, of course, that the student had the creative curiosity to formulate the questions.

  However, there was not enough space in Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters to set down all the necessary anatomical material. So I was delighted when Terence Coyle, a former student of mine and a fellow instructor at the Art Students League, suggested that he would like to write a companion volume, Anatomy Lessons from the Great Masters, which would explore in full detail the subject of artistic anatomy as conceived and used by the masters. I was convinced that such a book would be of great help to students.

  A cursory glance at the drawings herein should at once reveal that each artist had absorbed the technical details of anatomy so well that these details could be set down instinctively. This has to be so, for if an artist has to occupy his mind with the task of clumsily grouping the elemental facts of anatomy as he draws, there can be little room left for really important matters—such as the spirit of the drawing and the artist’s expressive intent.

  The beginner must fully understand that there is much, much more to drawing than just a full knowledge of anatomy. Otherwise, any medical man could create a first-rate figure drawing, which he cannot. The reason he cannot is that he is not aware that his splendid knowledge of anatomy must be related to all the other conventions and elements of drawing. In fact, the anatomy must frequently be subordinated to these other factors. If you wish to be a fully trained artist, all these conventions and elements must be so fully learned that, like anatomy, they may be instinctively expressed.

  And what are all these mysterious conventions and elements? That is what my previous book, Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters, is all about. The great master drawings and anatomical facts so skillfully compiled by Terence Coyle—in Anatomy Lessons from the Great Masters—are meant to complement the analysis of drawing principles in the earlier volume. I hope you will find time to read them both.

  ROBERT BEVERLY HALE

  New York, May 1977

  PREFACE

  For many years, I was privileged to attend and assist at Robert Beverly Hale’s famous lectures at the Art Students League of New York. Everyone who has been present at these lectures has felt the spell of this unforgettable man, who is surely America’s greatest teacher of figure drawing and artistic anatomy. Attending a Hale lecture, one shares the speaker’s rich intellectual experience. Hale’s colorful analogies relate the act of drawing to biology, anthropology, physics, architecture, history, and always to everyday life. He awakens the student’s awareness and scientific curiosity—teaches him to look beyond mere anatomical facts. Under Hale’s guidance, the study of the human figure becomes a path to the understanding and appreciation of nature’s fundamental order.

  Hale has long felt the need for an anatomical counterpart to his earlier book, Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters, but his busy life has always been filled with other projects. Over the years, I have kept detailed notes on his anatomical lectures and I finally suggested that I assemble these notes—appended to 100 master drawings—in a new book to be called Anatomy Lessons from the Great Masters. Hale gave his blessing to the project and the present book is the result.

  However, when I insisted that Hale’s name receive “top billing” on the jacket and title page of Anatomy Lessons from the Great Masters, he objected, “But I didn’t really write the book—you did!” Surely it is obvious that there would be no book at all without Hale—without his years of inspired teaching and his vast knowledge, to which my lecture notes can scarcely do justice. And so Robert Beverly Hale’s name stands first, where it truly belongs.

  The purpose of this book is to introduce art students to the practical applications of artistic anatomy in the figure drawings of the great masters. Like Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters, this new volume reproduces 100 great figure drawings. Each drawing is then analyzed to show how that particular master dealt with a specific area of the body. Thus, the student may see at once how the masters used anatomy to solve their figure drawing problems. An analytical caption is placed on the page opposite each master drawing. On that same caption page is a diagram of the drawing (or a significant part of it) so there is no time-consuming search for page references and diagrams in remote areas of the book. The master drawings are carefully selected to show how the anatomical area under discussion is treated in a variety of styles and techniques. As such, the book is essentially a self-teacher.

  The book is divided into eight chapters generally based on the order of Hale’s lectures. At the end of the book, for further reference, we have used an appropriate selection of fine plates drawn by Dr. Paul Richer in Artistic Anatomy (translated and edited by Robert Beverly Hale). The anatomical terms used in the text are those found in Gray’s Anatomy and in Richer’s book and are in common use today. When an unfamiliar anatomical name is introduced, the familiar name is given first and then followed by the technical name. Thereafter, the technical name is used throughout the text.

  Through the study of anatomical forms in these magnificent drawings of the living figure, we discover patterns and relationships that are not apparent at first glance. We discover that every action is a combination of the actions of many muscles—a series or pattern of moving forms. We observe how the great masters designed anatomical shapes. They used anatomy selectively, emphasizing some shapes more than others. It is this selectivity and emphasis, based on sound anatomical knowledge, that is the ultimate “lesson” of the great masters.

  TERENCE COYLE

  New York, May 1977

  1

  THE RIB

  CAGE

  Vertebral Column, Landmarks

  Tiepolo was a master at the economical selection of clues to suggest the hidden structure and functions of the body. In this wash drawing, the artist has indicated at the base of the neck the vertebra prominens (A) or seventh cervical vertebra, a very important landmark of the back. He has designed this point with two short contour lines to describe the form and has harmonized the lines, varying their thickness and length for variety and movement. This area is defined by his halftone wash, and is separated at the side from the scapular region by the accentuated vertebral or inner border of the scapula (B).

  The two short curves (C) below the seventh cervical vertebra indicate the spineous processes of the first and second thoracic vertebra. Below this, the masses of muscle project beyond the spines, and the vertebrae will not usually show unless the back is bent forward.

  To indicate the direction of the median or central furrow, Tiepolo has added a downward accent (D) in the upper thoracic region of the spine, and followed it by another near the bottom of the rib cage (E).

  The base of the vertebral column and top of the sacral triangle is indicated by the dimples (F) and (G). The inferior angle of the sacral triangle is located at the top end of the split of the buttocks (H).

  Just as Tiepolo uses a spiral of clues to hint at the position of the vertebral column and to suggest the direction of the rib cage, he uses the direction and shape of the sacral triangle (FGH), by showing its position in perspective, to hint at the directio
n of the pelvis. The artist also used the inferior angle of the sacral triangle (H) as a landmark to indicate the halfway point of the body in terms of height and the level of the top of the great trochanter (I).

  Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770)

  TWO BACCHANTES

  pen and brown ink

  12 1/4″ × 9 1/2″ (311 × 241 mm)

  Robert Lehman Collection

  Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

  Rib Cage, Anterior Aspect

  In this dynamic study, Rubens has first conceived of the great mass of the rib cage as a blocklike cylinder in a perspective box. The sternum and median line (A), indicated by the shaded inner edges of the pectoralis, help to define the direction of the rib cage in space, and one can almost see the perspective lines as they converge to vanishing points outside the frame of the picture. Follow the line of the sternum up to the pit of the neck or suprasternal notch (B). This is the top of the bony mass of the rib cage beneath, and the beginning of the neck.

  The formula for the thoracic arch (C) has been reinforced with linear accents of white chalk and follows the general formula for false ribs: two large curves above on each side, followed by two small curves below. At the top of this arch is the infrasternal notch or pit of the stomach (D), an important landmark. It indicates the position of the ensiform cartilage, the bottom of the sternum, the level of the fifth rib, the line of the bottom of the pectoralis muscle, and the halfway point of the rib cage. The tiny ensiform cartilage or xiphoid appendage, the lowest and smallest portion of the sternum lies, within this notch, but it seldom shows. The base of this appendage is on a level with the widest part of the rib on the front view.

  The fibers of the elongated pectoralis muscle (E) stretch across the rib cage to insert in the anterior or front portion of the humerus bone. Beneath the ridge of the bottom of pectoralis (G), Rubens has accentuated four digitations (bulges resembling fingers) of the serratus anterior (H). Below this is the clear bulge of the tip of the tenth rib (I). The vertical line of shading (J) suggests the plane break at the inner edge of the furrow between the ninth and tenth ribs. This begins the upward spiral of the line where the rib meets the cartilage (K), one of the most useful construction lines of the body. This is the line where rib meets cartilage and where front plane meets side plane.