Michelangelo: approaches to drawing the figure
Five-week practical evening course
21 January 2019 6.15 - 9.15pm28 January 2019 6.15 - 9.15pm4 February 2019 6.15 - 9.15pm11 February 2019 6.15 - 9.15pm18 February 2019 6.15 - 9.15pm
The Life Room, RA Schools, Piccadilly
£480. Includes all materials, light refreshments and a drinks reception at the end of the final session.
Bill Viola / Michelangelo
Terms and conditions
To coincide with the Bill Viola / Michelangelo exhibition, participants will explore approaches to drawing the figure with practicing artist and past president of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, Robin-Lee Hall.
Michelangelo drew throughout his long life, using drawing as an expression of his ideas for sculpture and paintings and in the form of highly finished gifts or presentation drawings, for friends and admirers. In making his drawings, he depended on both the live model and on his meticulous understanding of the idealised anatomy of classical sculpture. In some cases he would combine the two methods into one drawing.
This course examines different materials and approaches Michelangelo used in drawing, from brief sketches to fully worked up final pieces. Taking inspiration from images in the exhibition, participants will work directly from the life model.
This course will take place on consecutive Monday evenings. Each session runs from 6.15pm to 9.15pm.
Week one – Monday 21 January
Rapid observational drawing: Introduction to Michelangelo using chalk
Week two – Monday 28 January
Proportion and measurement: Using traditional techniques
Week three – Monday 4 February
Pen and Ink: Experimenting with sepia ink and looking at tone
Week four – Monday 11 February
Poses: Taking inspiration from poses in the artist’s drawings
Week five – Monday 18 February
Longer sustained pose: using one material, or a combination of materials explored during the course
About the course
During this five-week course, poses from Michelangelo’s figures will be recreated in the RA's historic Life Room.
Participants will be drawing the model in a variety of short and long poses with traditional drawing tools of the time including red and black chalk.
Each session will look at different poses and their function, and how a different drawing tool dictates the mark and outcome of a finished piece.
The course will cover measurement, mark making, composition and a focused exploration of Michelangelo’s work and methods.
This course is suitable for all levels, but participants will ideally have some prior experience of drawing, painting or creative practice in general.
This course is for you if:
• You have an interest in drawing or some prior knowledge and would like to improve on existing skills.
• You would like a new perspective in your approach to life drawing.
• You would like to work within a small group in the historic setting of the Royal Academy’s Life 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/or drawing from life.
Minimum age 18
The number of participants is strictly limited to enable detailed feedback from the course tutor.
£480
Monday 21 January - Monday 18 February 2019
6.15pm to 9.15pm for each session (five sessions in total)
• An introduction to the RA with particular reference to works in the Collection
• An introduction to the Bill Viola / Michelangelo exhibition, with particular reference to Michelangelo's work throughout the course
• The opportunity to work from both male and female professional life models throughout the course
• All specialist practical art materials
• Course learning materials and hand-outs
• Refreshments at the beginning of each session
• A drinks reception at the end of the final session
• A certificate of participation upon course completion
About the tutor
Robin-Lee Hall
Robin-Lee Hall is a practising artist specialising in portraiture and egg tempera. She is Past President of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. Her work has varied from standing on top of the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square at midnight in 2009 painting a view of the National Gallery as part of Sir Antony Gormley’s One and Other project, to exhibiting in the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery. She has won the Ondaatje Prize for Portraiture and has exhibited widely including the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.
In 2017, a film of her demonstrating drawing techniques was used in the exhibition The Encounter: Drawings from Leonardo to Rembrandt at the National Portrait Gallery.
In addition to portraits she paints still life and is developing drawings around ancient drawing (silverpoint) and digital drawing (working on an iPad).
About the space
The Life Room
The Royal Academy’s historic Life Room sits at the heart of the RA Schools. Usually closed to the public, this unique and significant space was designed in the 1860s, when the galleries and art school first moved to Burlington Gardens.
The semi-circular seating arrangement, based on an ancient design, traces its British history back to Hogarth’s Academy in St Martin’s Lane from around 1730. Directional light is used to enhance the delineation of the model’s musculature and aid life drawing, which has been practised in this room by generations of Royal Academy artists and students.
Our courses and classes programme
Our varied programme of short courses and classes provides an opportunity to explore subjects ranging from life drawing to the history of exhibitions and arts management, led by expert tutors and practising artists. These courses introduce traditional art-making processes, as well as perspectives on art history, theory and business.