Seated Female Nude
Pierre-Paul Prud’hon (1758-1823)
Black and white chalk

Photography has no limits to capturing the likeness of a subject. Babies can discern their own mother’s face; they will respond to a photograph of their mother but not to a photograph of a stranger. The vital connection we humans have with each other’s expressions is satisfactorily established through photography. So, why bother drawing human bodies and faces?

In his book, “The Undressed Art: Why We Draw,” Peter Steinhart gives three reasons that we continue to draw the human figure.

Modern media has reduced its imagery to stereotypes. Drawing reveals the variety of life.

We see a rapid succession of images on TV, the Internet, etc. that compete for our attention by being more sexy, more violent, more loud. There is no room for original thought here. Drawing forces quiet concentration and leads to unique expressions of character.

A camera doesn’t require a photographer’s presence. Drawing demands an artist’s attendance.

Humans crave visual interaction with human figures and facial expressions. There’s a lot more science to this (that I skimmed over,) but simply, we’ve come to depend on our interpretation of expressions for success and survival. (”That other caveman looks angry and sad. Perhaps I accidentally insulted his intelligence and should prepare to flee.”) People need to capture human images in a personal, non-mechanical way. Drawing the human figure invigorates the artist, and sometimes the artist has no idea why.

The human figure is the most challenging vehicle of artistic expression.

No one will know if you’ve messed up a teapot or a cloud. But everyone will spot an out-of-whack drawing of a human. This is because (a) we’re so familiar with looking at humans and we know the way they should look and (b) when you see a person, you understand that there is a lot going on that you can’t see in the form of intentions, emotions, memories and dreams.

References

• Hale, Robert and Terence Coyle. Anatomy Lessons from the Great Masters. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 2000.
• Steinhart, Peter. The Undressed Art : Why We Draw. New York: Knopf, 2004.