Drawing is a very fragile, sensitive and powerful thing. Learning to draw is like starting to talk or to play an instrument. At first, it is about following a natural inclination, which, with disciplined cultivation, gradually undergoes both small and great progress and soon provides thrilling satisfaction. This path of knowledge becomes more and more fascinating and indispensable from the very moment it begins. The human body--whether drawn from reality or invented, interpreted or imagined--is the main object of representations, and most artistic pursuits revolve around it. Regularly practicing drawing from real life is an endless and invigorating source of technical, compositional and formal inspiration, as well as a substantial element of art. And the human body is simultaneously a point of departure and point of arrival in such a process. Drawing a human figure is not so much a question of representation as it is of affinity with the body to be discovered; it is the response of the observer's body to that of the observed. And sight is not the only sense that is used; on its own it can easily be deceived when it is not acting as a vehicle for the accumulated experience of the other senses. In this book you will not find instructions on how you should draw, but instead suggestions to begin drawing, and in particular, drawing the human body. It is aimed at those who, either because they attend drawing schools or because they feel attracted to drawing, want to set off down a path of knowledge; at those who already draw and are interested in discovering other points of view; and at those who teach drawing and are looking to find an integration of methods and new associations aimed at developing creative exploration. From the foreword by Daniela Brambilla. Excerpted from Human Figure Drawing: Drawing Gestures, Postures and Movements by Daniela Brambilla All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
