Master Class in Figure Drawing

by Robert Beverly Hale, Terence Coyle

“For decades, Hale's admirers throughout America have hoped that his lectures on drawing and anatomy would become available in book form. I am delighted that this moment has come at last. For this book is not only a permanent record of Hale's teachings, but the crowing achievement of a man who remains an unforgettable presence in the live of artists throughout America.”—Philippe De Montebello, Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Robert Beverly Hale is a beloved teacher. He is a tall, spare, somewhat rumpled patrician of seventy-six, with black-rimmed glasses and an El Greco face. He teaches two courses, Artistic Anatomy and Elements of Drawing, at the Art Students League, on West Fifty-seventh Street, and his classes are a continual, almost legendary, celebration not only of the beauty and wonder of the human form but of Hale himself. Many people consider Hale the foremost teacher of artistic anatomy in the country, and perhaps the world. His classes are always oversubscribed, and students return year after year. When Hale enters a lecture hall or a studio, his students burst into applause.”— The New Yorker Profile, June 13, 1977

Genres: Art, Drawing, Reference

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Robert Beverly Hale (1901–November 14, 1985) was an artist, curator of American paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and instructor of artistic anatomy at the Art Students League of New York and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_...

Reviews

[Kurt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found it to be a useful text for thinking about the underlying structures that give the body its mass/form.

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is useful if you work very hard at drawing, and have other good books in your collection, so, i'm surprised that this book gets an average rating of 9.4
if one concentrates on the people who extensively review it

It's a book that can leave someone very cold, till you hit the right level and deeply appreciate it.

quite a few don't like it, but for the ultra serious, they really do like it.... I couldn't review this book in the past since it seemed to be the one that disapointed people the most.

But giving things two years or so, i could appreciate the reviews of Hale more, and see more what people like and dislike about this one....


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Amazone

For observing figure drawing
8/10

This book is more for an advanced artist wanting to look more closely at the structure of bodies, If you want to see how Master Artists have tackled the drawing of bodies, then this would be a book you would want.

Sherry Franklin

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Like being in Hale's Figure Drawing Class
8/10

Reading through this book I got the feeling of being in an actual figure drawing class .I guess it's just the way the book is structured.It's enjoyable to read and different from other books of the genre.If you're into figure drawing give this book the attention it deserves and it will help you improve your drawing.

Bluespace

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very comprehensive
10/10

I am currently in Figure drawing 2 and this book is a wonderful help. I have few figure drawing books that I feel compleatly happy with and this one is the best.

It shows you how the masters worked with simple shapes, line, value, mass, and anatomy to represent the figure.

It breaks up the chapters into body parts and each chapter deals with that specific part. By presenting works of master artists and disecting them you understand how the human form works and can be expressed.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in drawing the figure, especially beginners.

dan

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Fantastic
10/10

If you only buy one book, buy this one. Fantastic.

vv

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Best Book for the Aspiring Draftsman
10/10

This is the best book on the subject matter I've ever encountered.

I attend a live model drawing every Monday, and every other Thursday for years now, have copied many Master drawings and Bargue plates, I have drawn from George Bridgman, Andrew Loomis, and Charles Bargue.

While those sources are excellent and not to be discounted, this is by far the most comprehensive, logical approach to a complex but rewarding activity like figure drawing.

I recommend this to anyone, even before you delve into Hale's other books- "Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters" and especially before "Anatomy Lessons from the Great Masters." I got this one last and it immediately made things "snap" mentally, in a way that things had not from the afformentioned titles. I understood everything he was trying to say a lot more.

For me this is mainly because of the helpful shapes he deliberately and simply draws on top of the master drawings. While this is found in the other titles, it's not to the extent as with this title.

As a final parting advice, stray away from Betty Edwards and her dubiously scientific "right side of the brain." It is extremely detrimental compared to Bob Hale's sagely advice:

"if you draw what you see, what til you see what you draw."

Or as I like to say "if you draw what you see, you will not draw what you see"

One *must* study form, draw what they know.

Copying a photograph upside down is ok for a total beginner, and in my opinion Edwards shines in getting people who are afraid to draw and have never done so, generating acceptable drawings. That's about as helpful as it can be though.

This takes drawing to a wonderful and challenging new plane.

Ian Hegarty

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OK for a compilation of master drawings
6/10

I own all 3 of Hale's books. He's one of those Art Students League of NYC guys. His books show master drawings, then another drawing where he highlights certain anatomical or shape forms.

In general, it's pretty good stuff, but I wouldn't take the instruction too seriously.

Half the time, his "points" on the diagram refer to no discernible bump or prominence on the model, so it's useless.

But half the time it IS useful. In general, his advice describing the shapes of figures as cones, cylinders, blocks, etc. is good, but you don't need to go through 100 drawings to learn that. He includes Fuseli and Rembrandt drawings, which are actually quite bad to learn from, since they are too sketchy and broad. Much better to learn from Rubens, Michelangelo etc.

I recommend Hale's books, because they're a cheap way to get into figure drawing and to be inspired by the works of the masters, and you'll learn something. But don't ONLY get these. Also get Joseph Sheppard's excellent books, and Peck's book, if you want to round out your anatomy knowledge. As a collection of master drawings, these books are a bargain, though, but they are not in color.

Bullwinkle495

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A True Master Class
10/10

There are many beautiful drawings in here by Durer, Da Vinci, Sanzio, Rubens and Cambiaso to name a few. Robert Beverly Hale uses each drawing to get his point across and has really opened my eyes to the structure of the human body – and I can see great improvements in my own work since reading and following this book.

Hale starts off with the rib cage and lead you through every part of the body and talks in terms of massing, planes and values, landmarks muscles and bone structures of each part of the body. He truly knows his subject and educates the artist to really understand the human form painlessly.
He delivers each topic with subtle humour and with in-depth knowledge. All the drawings are in black and white but don’t let this put you off. If anything this lets you focus on problem of laying down a convincingly rendered drawing.

This is my most treasured book on the human form.

loz

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Excellent reference
10/10

Excellent reference book for the most novice of drawers or the advanced artist looking for a refresh. I had to buy this book for a foundations drawing class in college. I later taught high school and would reference it regularly, and still have it in my studio library.

Patricia

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wonderfully informative and readable
8/10

Hale was and still is (at least in this book) a master of the subject. He is one of the very few artists I know who can marry the intellectual with the creative. His physical presence is missed by all that knew him.

andrew mollica

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My favorite Anatomy book
10/10

Amazing book, I bought it twenty some years ago for my fiancé at the time and now I am buying it for my son. My favorite anatomy book by far.

Susan Stejskal Alexander

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Great Technical Book for artists and great teaching book for novices
10/10

If you 'really' want to learn and are willing to 'work hard', this is the book for you. Also a wonderful reference book for professional artists. Darned close to the finest, if not the finest book on figure available.

Linda Eichorst

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I think it could be more user friendly, but it is still very good
8/10

Kristina Stephens

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Averages out to a 9.4

[Jedkimball]

Good not as well done as other text

[Edwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been a great help with building up my proficiency in figure drawing, even before I formally studied art.