Anatomy

       Accurate renditions of the human form have been a part of the art world since ancient Greece, but the practice of dissection to learn more about the anatomy provided artists with the information needed to direct their focus underneath the skin. Once knowledge of anatomy, science and other disciplines become elements of artistic training, artists such as Da Vinci and Michelangelo were able to capture unprecedentedly realistic bodies. Their familiarity of the interplay between muscles, ligaments and tendons underneath the skin allowed them to share that knowledge with viewers through meticulously lifelike depictions of the surface.  However, once this information became widely available, it became widely practiced and thus lost a bit of its original luster. Modern anatomical artistic practices such as plastination revive the original fascination and simultaneous repulsion viewers feel when beholding what lies beneath the flesh.

       I have always enjoyed drawing the human body. There is a beautiful depth to the subtleties and natural details within that is incredibly challenging to accurately capture but so rewarding once understood. When I was a child, I rarely drew anything but people, particularly princesses in extravagant dresses. By the time I graduated high school, I thought I had mastered the human form. Then I was forced to draw nudes in college and changed my mind. To have a chance at a first-hand glance at the muscular and skeletal structures beneath the skin would be an amazingly informative experience if I could acquire the stomach for it. It’s interesting that this type of intensive study of the anatomy was so heavily emphasized hundreds of years ago, but now artistic training has reverted back to a more superficial academic structure.