Anatomy and Drawing

by Victor Semon Pérard

hc with dj, detailed figure drawings of male and female/young and old

Genres: Art, Drawing, Nonfiction, Reference

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1928

About the author

Victor Semon Pérard (1870-1957) was a Golden-Age American illustrator who trained at the École des Beaux Arts and later at the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League. He also wrote many art-instruction books in the early 20th century.

Reviews

[Toviel · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the past ten years, the 1995* edition of ANANTOMY AND DRAWING has consistently been one of the most useful references in my art library.

Unlike similar texts, such as the highly acclaimed Andrew Loomis books, Victor Perard opts to simply show the reader hundreds of illustrations instead of spending a lot of time describing method and technique. Only ten or so pages are written in plain text in the entire book, with most of the book simply using labels to denote measurements or body parts when necessary. A lesser artist would suffer from this choice in direction, but Perard’s grasp on both proportion and motion ensures that no space is wasted or repetitive. From dynamic stick figures to superbly detailed bone and muscle structures, ANATOMY AND DRAWING shows the reader how to draw creatively as well as accurately. One of my favorite touches is the index at the end, which lists every muscle, where it's located, and its purpose in the body.

The only major problem with the book is that it’s tiny. It measures between 9.5x7 inches, leaving many pictures crammed together on every page. Some illustrations are less than a square inch in size. Given how precise proportions need to be in artwork, learning from small examples only makes the learning process all the more difficult. The text also neglects to mention how, if any, measuring instruments can be used to aid beginners. Finally, while bones and muscles are a major focus of the book, there isn’t a whole lot of material related to how fat layers over them. It may be an excellent book for intermediate artists, but I can’t give this edition of the book the full five stars that it deserves.

*The 1995 hardcover edition is not listed on Goodreads, but it appears to be the same book as the 1997 version.

[I Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very useful for any artist wishing to do figure drawing.

This book covers anatomy pictorially very thoroughly, however I feel it would have benefited from descriptive passage explaining the workings and what one is viewing.

I was a bit unsure on the arm proportions given for males, but I'm sure this is anatomically correct as the author has clearly spent much time studying the subject.

There could have perhaps been a bit more on the young and old, but I was pleased that it included these variants.

[Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book in a Mumbai Market, its a short yet detailed book on anatomy and figure drawing. The writer does not write about his technique but you can see the technique he uses to determine proportion, and capture anatomical intricacies, structural rigidity and pliablity, muscular tension and facial expressions. Victor Perard is a great artist to learn from, you can develop technique by just emulating what he has done on a sheet of scratch paper.

[Anshika Rawat]

I want only good study in human anatomy skeleton to clothing

[Lee Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book has some of the most awesome line drawings i have ever seen. it is an instructional book for learning how to draw human anatomy. there are several editions and i cannot vouch for the the newer versions, but this older edition is letter-pressed and beautiful.

[HELLO · Rating 4 out of 5]

comprehensive in scope and convenient in size (a tad bigger than a half divided sheet of paper). excellent coloring and practice book but not error-free

[Ankur · Rating 4 out of 5]

10-12 years ago as a kid with little money in my pocket I bought this book.