Friday, August 26, 2016

Traditional Académie Figure-Drawings

Théodore Géricault
Académie
ca. 1815
drawing
British Museum

Formal figure studies like these were prescribed in the 18th and 19th centuries as standard curriculum in art academies all across Europe. Academic figure-drawing lost some of its prestige during the 20th century, under pressure from succeeding waves of artistic innovation and mechanization. Yet even today, wherever traditional skills are still passed on, exercises similar to these continue to be required.

Paul Cézanne
Académie
19th century
drawing
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

Jean-Baptiste François Desoria
Académie
1775
drawing
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

George James Howard
Académie (as statue)
ca. 1864-66
drawing
British Museum

after Louis Chéron
Académie
1720s
chiaroscuro woodcut
British Museum

Ignazio Enrico Hugford
Académie
18th century
drawing
British Museum

Ozias Humphry
Académie
late 18th century
drawing
British Museum

Sir Joshua Reynolds
Académie
1770s
drawing
British Museum

William Hilton
Académie
early 19th century
drawing
British Museum

William Strutt
Académie
19th century
drawing
British Museum

Francesco Bartolozzi
Académie
18th century
drawing
British Museum

Alfrred Elmore
Académie
19th century
drawing
British Museum

Edward Francis Burney
Académie (Tring the Boxer)
early 19th century
drawing
British Museum

William Blake
Académie
ca. 1779-80
drawing
British Museum