Drawing essentials: understanding the human form and anatomy
Five-week practical evening course
6 September 2017 6.15 - 9.15pm13 September 2017 6.15 - 9.15pm20 September 2017 6.15 - 9.15pm27 September 2017 6.15 - 9.15pm4 October 2017 6.15 - 9.15pm
The Life Room, Royal Academy Schools
£85 for individual sessions. £400 for full course. Includes all materials, light refreshments on arrival and a drinks reception at the end of the final session.
Terms and conditions
Learn the essentials to drawing the human form and anatomy, including the head and upper and lower body, in the Royal Academy’s historic Life Room – a space purpose-built for life drawing – with practising artist Adele Wagstaff.
The representation of the human form has been a key subject of interest for artists since the earliest of times. The representation of the body was of primary concern for Early Cycladic art and culture dating from 3200 BC. The human face and body were portrayed in both symbolic and realistic ways in Egyptian art dating back to 3000 BC. Ancient Greek sculptors championed the idea that the human body was the ideal subject for sculpture, and Roman artists captured the idealised yet remarkably life-like forms in masterpieces like theMotya Charioteer (created between 480 and 470 B.C, Museo Giuseppe Whitaker in Sicily) and Aphrodite Crouching at Her Bath (a Roman copy of a Greek original from the second century AD in the British Museum). In art schools across the world, classical works provide inspiration and continue to be copied by students today.
Explore the human form by studying the anatomy of the human figure through a series of poses from both individual figures and of two models working together. Working from different and varied life models, and using a range of poses and art materials, this course will introduce and explore the human anatomy in depth through a variety of resting and action poses under the guidance of practising artists Adele Wagstaff.
Each session will be clearly defined by focusing on a different element of the human form:
Week one – The torso
Week two – The head, neck and shoulders
Week three – The upper limbs and hands
Week four – The lower limbs and feet
Week five – The interaction of two figures: male and female
Participants can attend individual evening sessions or all five.
About the course
This five-week evening class is an exciting opportunity to study in more depth the essential elements of anatomical drawing and the human form. Working from different and varied life models, and using a range of poses and art materials, this course will introduce and explore different parts of the human anatomy in detail under the guidance of practising artist Adele Wagstaff.
The course will reference and make use of expertly selected items from the Royal Academy’s own Archives and Collection – a unique and exceptional scholarly reference and teaching tool which has informed artists and their practice since the Royal Academy’s foundation in 1768. As well as learning from carefully chosen archival material, participants will develop skills in observation, representation and rendition. Participants will focus on different parts of the human figure, working under different light conditions, with different materials, in black and white as well as in colour, and using a variety of short as well as long poses. All levels are welcome.
Each session will be clearly defined by focusing on a different element of the human form:
Wednesday 6 September
Week one – The torso
Wednesday 13 September
Week two – The head, neck and shoulders
Wednesday 20 September
Week three – The upper limbs and hands
Wednesday 27 September
Week four – The lower limbs and feet
Wednesday 4 October
Week five – The interaction of two figures: male and female
Each session is from 6.15 – 9.15pm
Participants can attend individual evening sessions or all five.
This course is suitable for all levels.
This course is for you if:
• You have an intrinsic interest in drawing or some prior knowledge and would like to improve upon existing skills and learn new techniques and approaches.
• You would like a new perspective in your approach to life drawing and the anatomy.
• You would like the opportunity to develop your skills and ideas in a small group setting and in the historical surroundings of the Royal Academy’s Life Drawing room, with one-on-one teaching and expert led guidance.
• You have no prior experience of life drawing but have an interest in the theory, practice and history of art and drawing from life.
Minimum age 18
The number of participants is strictly limited to enable detailed feedback from the Course Tutor for each participant on the work that they create.
Price per session: £85
Price for all five sessions: £400
Includes:
• The opportunity to work from life models
• Special reference to works in the Academy library and archives on anatomy
• All practical materials
• Light refreshments upon arrival and a drinks reception at the end of the final session
• A certificate of participation if attending the full course
About the tutor
Painter Adele Wagstaff trained at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and the Slade School of Fine Art where her teachers included Andrew Maclaren, Myles Murphy, Patrick Symons, Norman Norris and Euan Uglow. Following her graduation from the Slade, where in the Life Room Adele focussed her practice on working from the nude in sustained poses, Adele continues to focus on the human figure, portrait and still life.
Adele has been shortlisted for the Jerwood Drawing Prize and the BP Portrait Award, and her work has been exhibited in the National Portrait Gallery, Discerning Eye, Royal West of England Academy, the Canadian Portrait Academy and the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. She continues to exhibit regularly in London and throughout the UK.
Adele has published two books: Still Life Painting in Oils, 2012, and Painting the Nude, 2015, both published by the Crowood Press. She also regularly contributes to The Artist magazine as well as Artists and Illustrators magazine.
About the space
The Life Room
Set in the Academy’s historic Life Room, nestled deep in the heart of the RA Schools, this unique and significant space was designed in the 1860s when the galleries and schools were first constructed, purpose built to accommodate the study of the human form in art.
The semi-circular seating arrangement is based on an ancient design and can trace its British history back to the 1730s and Hogarth’s Academy in St Martin’s Lane. The directional light is also of ancient design and is used (then as now) to provide directional light to aid the delineation of the figure’s musculature – significantly enhance the use and study of colour and light in art.
Our courses and classes programme
Our programme of short courses and classes offers the opportunity to explore a range of subjects, led by expert tutors and practising artists.