Friday, April 1, 2011

!00 paintings an artist should had oughta know,maybe

56) Female nude by Pierre-Paul Prud'hon 1758-1823

These are of course not paintings but drawings. Artists have studied the drawings of Prod'hon because they are so finely rendered. These are 18th century works not 19th century works. To my eye they look newer than that.

These are academic figure studies of the sort atelier students do during their training. But these are the best of the best. They are not "straight" renditions of the models, look at the idealized feet on the figure above.

The reflected light on the standing figure above perfectly describes the forms of her body. That has been installed. I am sure it looked somewhat like that, but it has been perfected to fully delineate all of the bosses and hollows of the figure. It is like sculpture done on paper.

Notice the careful modeling of the structure in the left arm (viewers left) The linking and intertwining of the muscles as the originate, swell, and then dive back under the next muscle group to their insertions is like the links of a chain. The volumes and forms are perfectly explained, yet not overblown into monster material.

12 comments:

Rick B. said...

Remarkable!

Bob Carter said...

These are exquisite! What are the media in each case? The first appears to be graphite and chalk, but are the others just charcoal?

LAinChgo said...

Thank you for posting Pierre-Paul Prud'hon's drawings. These are truly magnificent examples of what a skilled and talented artist can produce.
I copied the Fountainhead and found it to be a challenge, as it should be!
As a self-taught and beginning artist, these will be great guides for my Master Drawing Copies!

Judy P. said...

Another great reminder about installing, not just observing, good components in a painting. When you're struggling just to get technical accuracy down, like I am, it's hard to jump to that next step 'How can I make it better?'.
O Wise Stape, continue to guide us!

JonInFrance said...

I did a copy of that first one as part of my Stape-inspired drawing program! I just love him. Rebecca Alzofon has a truly excellent tutorial on his drawings
http://art.net/~rebecca/OnPrudon1.html

LAinChgo said...

@JonInFrance, great Pierre-Paul Prud'hon drawings/technique blog. Thanks

Stapleton Kearns said...

Rick;
They are!
.............Stape

Stapleton Kearns said...

Bob;
Yes I believe they are.
...............Stape

Stapleton Kearns said...

LAinChgo;
They would be great to copy.
..............Stape

Stapleton Kearns said...

Judy;
I do go on about that don't I
..................Stape

Stapleton Kearns said...

JonInFrance;
Thanks I will look that up.
...............Stape

stapeliad said...

I was fortunate enough to see a Prud'hon drawing exhibit some years ago, it had so much impact and still stands out in my mind as one of the best exhibitions I have ever seen.