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The Undressed Art: Why We Draw
"We all draw as children: we scrawl a sun-beamed circle for a face and dots for eyes, and then we move on to portraits of Mom with an upside-down U for hair and Dad with trousers up to his armpits. But sooner or later, almost everyone stops. In this book, Peter Steinhart explores why some of us keep on drawing - and what happens when we do." Combining the scientific, the historical, the anecdotal and the personal, Steinhart asks some questions: Why do drawings often speak to us more eloquently than paintings? What is the mind doing when we draw? Why is so much drawing of the face and of the nude figure? What is the dynamic between a clothed artist and a naked model?
272 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
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308 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
February 2, 2010
This will become a mainstay of my art/drawing library. It is fantastic, well written and engaging. I can see myself rereading it.
June 1, 2018
Undressed Art is a book on everything that involves drawing nude human figures by naturalist and writer Peter Steinhart, an amateur artist himself. It concentrates mostly on figure sketching scene in America including the reasons to draw, learning to draw in childhood and adulthood, drawing in art institutes and in private and public groups, nude modelling, lives of artists both amateur and professional and history of drawing figure the world-over for the last 2-3 centuries.
This book is filled with lots of details about all aspects of drawing with abundance of anecdotes and stories. This would be very useful for someone who is an amateur at both figure sketching and art modelling, whether they want to cultivate it as a hobby or as a profession.
Many of practical problems involved with the subject are dicussed here with the help of anecdotes. For example, the problem of arousal in both models and artists is discussed. As far as artists are concerned, it only happens in amateurs and they don't last very long with drawing and produce bad drawings. Once the author was sitting beside a guy who went about his drawing with such a frenzy with a lot of noise and a lot of drama that his neighbours couldn't focus on their drawing. When the author peeked into his sketch, he was only able to clumsily draw genitals. His focus was on genitals and then he would move on to other parts of the body and he would always feel frustrated when the model changed the pose because his drawing would remain incomplete. Such people, the author says, are overwhelmed by the idea of drawing a nude model that they project their own sexual frustration on the paper and never achieve a certain quality in their drawings and eventually loose interest drawing.
Some of the models experience desire, too. It is usually involuntary and more a problem with men, of course, because it shows. "The problem with men is erections," says Ogden Newton, who has modelled for fourty years.
It has happened to Newton. The one time in his career that he got aroused in the studio, he felt deeply humiliated. After it happened, he went to apologise to a woman who had been right in front of him, but as he approached her he saw that she had cheerfully drawn his erection, and drawn it beautifully. He was so emabarrassed that he couldn't bring himself to speak to her."
.....
Arousal happens to women, too. "Women are a lot more subtle about it," says a San Francisco model. "You get a long time on the stage. You've got to entertain yourself. If I'm trying to be in a seductive pose and I'm thinking about sex, that may trigger something. Or I'll look at someone in the room and feel tension in my body." Once she's aware of the arousal, she becomes concerned about showing it. "I'll compensate for it with other muscles. I can contract my muscles in a way that doesn't show I'm excited." But it's sometime a struggle. "I worry about losing control of my bladder or, 'Oh, my god, am I juicing up or something?'But I dpn't want to control myself so much that I'm like a cadaver. It's not a good time to feel like you're excited."
Author also discusses art as a profession. He says that most artists who start out as artists in an art school fail to make it their profession. Most of them completely leave art world and small percentage of them remain associated with art field in some way such as working at an ad agency (although that has been dampened by advent of photography), or at a gallery or a museum or an art supply store etc. Only a fraction of art student remain professionals for life and hardly any of them make a good living out of it. This happens with art models, too. Thus, most of professional artists and professional models supplement their pay with some other part time jobs.
Author discussed that even in the art world there is a certain hierarchy where painters and sculptor are at the top and figure drawing artists at the bottom. As a result they don't sell many of their works. Most of the artists and especially those who draw figures, draw them for themselves.
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres advised: Do not concern yourself with other people. Concern yourself with your own work alone." Van Gogh declare, "The only thing to do is to go one's own way, to try one's best, to make the thing live..... Should my work be not good it will be my own fault."
But then again, can't that be said for everything in our lives?
This is a good book for someone who is starting out or is curious about nude figure drawing or modelling. It has lots of details and anecdotes and stories, in fact, sometimes too many of them.
This book is filled with lots of details about all aspects of drawing with abundance of anecdotes and stories. This would be very useful for someone who is an amateur at both figure sketching and art modelling, whether they want to cultivate it as a hobby or as a profession.
Many of practical problems involved with the subject are dicussed here with the help of anecdotes. For example, the problem of arousal in both models and artists is discussed. As far as artists are concerned, it only happens in amateurs and they don't last very long with drawing and produce bad drawings. Once the author was sitting beside a guy who went about his drawing with such a frenzy with a lot of noise and a lot of drama that his neighbours couldn't focus on their drawing. When the author peeked into his sketch, he was only able to clumsily draw genitals. His focus was on genitals and then he would move on to other parts of the body and he would always feel frustrated when the model changed the pose because his drawing would remain incomplete. Such people, the author says, are overwhelmed by the idea of drawing a nude model that they project their own sexual frustration on the paper and never achieve a certain quality in their drawings and eventually loose interest drawing.
Some of the models experience desire, too. It is usually involuntary and more a problem with men, of course, because it shows. "The problem with men is erections," says Ogden Newton, who has modelled for fourty years.
It has happened to Newton. The one time in his career that he got aroused in the studio, he felt deeply humiliated. After it happened, he went to apologise to a woman who had been right in front of him, but as he approached her he saw that she had cheerfully drawn his erection, and drawn it beautifully. He was so emabarrassed that he couldn't bring himself to speak to her."
.....
Arousal happens to women, too. "Women are a lot more subtle about it," says a San Francisco model. "You get a long time on the stage. You've got to entertain yourself. If I'm trying to be in a seductive pose and I'm thinking about sex, that may trigger something. Or I'll look at someone in the room and feel tension in my body." Once she's aware of the arousal, she becomes concerned about showing it. "I'll compensate for it with other muscles. I can contract my muscles in a way that doesn't show I'm excited." But it's sometime a struggle. "I worry about losing control of my bladder or, 'Oh, my god, am I juicing up or something?'But I dpn't want to control myself so much that I'm like a cadaver. It's not a good time to feel like you're excited."
Author also discusses art as a profession. He says that most artists who start out as artists in an art school fail to make it their profession. Most of them completely leave art world and small percentage of them remain associated with art field in some way such as working at an ad agency (although that has been dampened by advent of photography), or at a gallery or a museum or an art supply store etc. Only a fraction of art student remain professionals for life and hardly any of them make a good living out of it. This happens with art models, too. Thus, most of professional artists and professional models supplement their pay with some other part time jobs.
Author discussed that even in the art world there is a certain hierarchy where painters and sculptor are at the top and figure drawing artists at the bottom. As a result they don't sell many of their works. Most of the artists and especially those who draw figures, draw them for themselves.
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres advised: Do not concern yourself with other people. Concern yourself with your own work alone." Van Gogh declare, "The only thing to do is to go one's own way, to try one's best, to make the thing live..... Should my work be not good it will be my own fault."
But then again, can't that be said for everything in our lives?
This is a good book for someone who is starting out or is curious about nude figure drawing or modelling. It has lots of details and anecdotes and stories, in fact, sometimes too many of them.
June 16, 2022
I picked this book up while browsing at a museum gift shop, waiting for a friend, and soon found myself fully absorbed and taking pictures of some of my favorite passages. I really enjoyed the chapters about what makes figure drawing so appealing + the history of figure drawing/modeling
December 28, 2024
A really warm and thoughtful mulling over and historical retelling of why the human figure and why the act of drawing despite it all as artists. I should chat w Peter about my life drawing model encounter in Florence for the Desire chapter..
June 1, 2015
A book about the rituals, trials and pleasure that comes from drawing,The Undressed Art is a fairly enjoyable read, but the author is overly descriptive in some chapters, making the text tedious and difficult to get through at times. I had to skim through some chapters, as they bored me (and I'm an artist/ex-model, and am interested in the subjects presented).
I enjoyed the chapters on the history of life/figure drawing (how it was once taboo and looked down upon, and how it became the respectable art it is today in the world of art), the stories and experiences of contemporary models, and the collaboration and inspiration that goes on between artists and models.
Steinhert goes into a bit too much detail at times (verbosely describing sharpening pencils and sketching lines) making the book lag and become dull at times, and his science is for the most part bogus (references many misconceptions of neuroscience), but if you're an artist or a model, you would probably enjoy this book.
I enjoyed the chapters on the history of life/figure drawing (how it was once taboo and looked down upon, and how it became the respectable art it is today in the world of art), the stories and experiences of contemporary models, and the collaboration and inspiration that goes on between artists and models.
Steinhert goes into a bit too much detail at times (verbosely describing sharpening pencils and sketching lines) making the book lag and become dull at times, and his science is for the most part bogus (references many misconceptions of neuroscience), but if you're an artist or a model, you would probably enjoy this book.
December 16, 2015
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but I am glad I took a chance on it. Steinhart explored the various reasons why people draw - connection, recognition, to remember, and so on - but he does it in a unique way be including excellent examples of illustrators at work. He also includes information on why people model nude and why people are so compelled to draw nudes. There were a lot of great tips on seeing as an artist that I will certainly keep in my bag of tricks as I am learning to draw.
June 4, 2017
I highly recommend this to anyone interested or involved in any of the arts, visual or not. I picked this up on an impulse at a used book store. Well crafted essays on art, seeing, work, hobbies, and purpose. More depth and breadth than I expected, plus compelling enough writing to keep me interested. I found myself quietly reflecting on the purpose of art, as well as energized and excited to see and create art.
This might be my favorite book.
This might be my favorite book.
July 14, 2008
Anyone who has drawn with a life-drawing group or even just loves to draw will feel like this author has crawled right into your head. You will recognize your impulses, your experiences and the "high" you get from the act of drawing itself. Really, it's a manifesto to turn off the TV and pick up your sketchbook, and continue to observe nature and the world with greater focus.
July 28, 2014
Lots of historical and anecdotal pieces of information and observations about figure drawing. The author's tendency to generalize from his personal experience and his near-misogynistic commentary rather put me off. Overall, an okay read.
September 19, 2012
A great book about what our brains do when drawing and also a good description of what figure models do and why they do it. Written mainly about the St. Fran area in California
March 21, 2020
I started going to live model drawing sessions recently and the very question that this book attempts to answer has been much on my mind: "why draw anything?" In the age of universal instantly shareable digital photography, what's the point of representational art? I feel compelled to do it, but I can't explain exactly why. Peter Steinbart makes it clear that a lot of artists feel this way. This little book is a pleasantly meandering journey through the world of live models, the artists who gather to draw them, and the history of others who have done the same for hundreds of years. Happily diverting and a nice meditation on the question.
May 22, 2021
Not very engaging but it is very detailed. It reads like someone’s been watching artists to study them like a nature biologist. The art selections are few and far between, the text doesn’t reflect on history, style or really anything. It doesn’t have a set reason of “why we draw”, its just a study of how people draw and their methods of staying in the zone. It does touch on “I draw because it calms me” or “I draw to hear nature” but it could have been more encompassing. The book focuses too much on its writer, shoving praise all over the cover, and promising what it can’t deliver.
November 20, 2017
Mildly interesting read about the history and psychology of drawing, focusing on figure drawing.
August 17, 2019
Brilliant, fascinating, well written. Loved it.
August 23, 2019
Picked it up to pass the time; quickly became engrossed. Well written in a most interesting manner.
December 27, 2022
I wanted to like this book, but it fell far short of my expectations. The descriptions about gender differences were old-fashioned, and not well informed.
July 20, 2024
I loved how philosophical this was about the art of drawing.
February 9, 2025
This book resonated, gave words to the emotions and processes of drawing and painting that I have not yet articulated. Why do we return to drawing? How is drawing different from painting?
March 15, 2014
Though I rarely re-read books, this is my second reading of this book. I first read it about 4-5 years ago and because I am planning on taking a life drawing class this summer, I thought that I would read it again.
I'm glad I did. It's a wonderful book, full of acute observations about how we draw, why we draw and stories of the many dynamics between artists and models. The book offers the unique perspective of the life drawing model from what it is like to work for low wages, to the pain of holding a pose for long periods of time to the awkwardness of undressing in front of a group of strangers for the first time.
From scores of interviews with both models and artists, the author describes the sometimes uneasy, but usually respectful, dynamics between the two groups. Writing from his own experience as a long-time life-drawing artist in the Bay Area of California, the author recounts stories of both obscure and well-known models and artists as well as the role of figurative drawing in a time when representational drawing is often frowned upon by galleries, museums and even many artists.
I remember that I first bought this book because I was intrigued by the cover. It is a photograph by artist David Hockney of a drawing he did of lemons that is surrounded by his tools and art materials. Always intrigued with the materials artists use, I was taken by the casual and undesigned intimacy of this photo.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book, both the first and the second times I read it. I hesitate to recommend it to anyone who does not have an interest in drawing. But if you do, there is surprisingly much to learn and think about in this book.
I'm glad I did. It's a wonderful book, full of acute observations about how we draw, why we draw and stories of the many dynamics between artists and models. The book offers the unique perspective of the life drawing model from what it is like to work for low wages, to the pain of holding a pose for long periods of time to the awkwardness of undressing in front of a group of strangers for the first time.
From scores of interviews with both models and artists, the author describes the sometimes uneasy, but usually respectful, dynamics between the two groups. Writing from his own experience as a long-time life-drawing artist in the Bay Area of California, the author recounts stories of both obscure and well-known models and artists as well as the role of figurative drawing in a time when representational drawing is often frowned upon by galleries, museums and even many artists.
I remember that I first bought this book because I was intrigued by the cover. It is a photograph by artist David Hockney of a drawing he did of lemons that is surrounded by his tools and art materials. Always intrigued with the materials artists use, I was taken by the casual and undesigned intimacy of this photo.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book, both the first and the second times I read it. I hesitate to recommend it to anyone who does not have an interest in drawing. But if you do, there is surprisingly much to learn and think about in this book.
November 30, 2007
Growing up in a family with a parent who was a serious artist and having become myself an artist I was drawn to this book.
The author is clearly very knowledgeable about drawing and it's history in the modern world. I find it deeply gratifying to read such articulate understanding of the motivations and psychology of artists, which from my life is something I have rarely encountered.
His research into the varieties of drawing groups and the realities of models and their guilds is illuminating and familiar to me.
The references tend to be often about the art scene in the San Francisco area, but also in New York. I find myself slowing down reading it because I feel comfortable and familiar in the world he is describing.
Reading this I know there is someone who truly understands the facets of experience common to many artists and either misunderstood or not recognized by those who see the art world as a foreign territory. At the same time, his detail and perception helps me to understand things I had only guessed at or half intuited and I find it reassuring to not feel alone so much in this context, to know that I could always quote him or at least re-read the book if I needed the support.
This is certainly a meditation on drawing and understanding of the importance of drawing. In my mind it has a relevance akin to that of Latin and Romance languages as far as being helpful in understanding much of the world I inhabit.
The author is clearly very knowledgeable about drawing and it's history in the modern world. I find it deeply gratifying to read such articulate understanding of the motivations and psychology of artists, which from my life is something I have rarely encountered.
His research into the varieties of drawing groups and the realities of models and their guilds is illuminating and familiar to me.
The references tend to be often about the art scene in the San Francisco area, but also in New York. I find myself slowing down reading it because I feel comfortable and familiar in the world he is describing.
Reading this I know there is someone who truly understands the facets of experience common to many artists and either misunderstood or not recognized by those who see the art world as a foreign territory. At the same time, his detail and perception helps me to understand things I had only guessed at or half intuited and I find it reassuring to not feel alone so much in this context, to know that I could always quote him or at least re-read the book if I needed the support.
This is certainly a meditation on drawing and understanding of the importance of drawing. In my mind it has a relevance akin to that of Latin and Romance languages as far as being helpful in understanding much of the world I inhabit.
January 5, 2014
I bought this book at the Metropolitan Museum of Art bookstore, NYC, and am glad I read it although it often reads like a textbook so I found I had to make myself keep reading. Parts of it are really captivating plus I loved the drawings and I resonated with much of what Steinhart had to say about "Why We Draw." "Art is an extension of our human abilities to make mental images and to hold ideas in the form of symbols. Art thus increases our abilities to record and manipulate experience. We draw to assemble more complicated details than we can assemble in memory alone . . ."
January 6, 2018
I really wanted to love this book! And it was pretty good. I draw a lot and I have this blog (http://drawmedy.wordpress.com/) and I've been snooping around for writers who explore what it is about drawing itself (as compared to other visual arts) that is so magical. I was psyched to find this book and the author (a longtime naturalist and writer) is clearly interesting and thoughtful it always feel like the full book moved beyond the sum of its parts.
November 10, 2015
A wonderful read with great anecdotes and quotes from art history, engaging stories from artists who draw and models who pose from them, and surprising scientific facts about the effects of drawing on the brain, all studded with drawings from children to famous artists. I would consider it a must-read for any art school student, working artist, and art historian. Peter Steinhart inspired me to return to drawing every day.
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May 5, 2025As someone who often likes the drawings titled "Study for ----" more than finished and elaborate paintings, this book helped me understand those feelings. And as someone who is building the habit of drawing daily, Steinhart's insights into process, emotion and searching (the "dispersers"!) were fresh and motivating.
August 6, 2019
I really liked this book. I love to draw and am in drawing class right now. Reading about the models was so interesting, Steinhart interviewed some of them and hearing about their reasons for modeling were so enlightening. I think all life-drawing models, and artists should read this book.
July 24, 2014
An overview of why we draw with some examples from artists in the Bay Area. I would assume this author is from the Bay Area, because of references to locales in Berkeley, San Fransisco and Oakland.
May 20, 2015
A naturalist turns his powers of observation, description, and appreciation on the community of amateur drawers and sketchers and the result is absolutely fascinating. While there are some flaws with the uneven scope of the book, many of his insights resonated with the drawer in me.
July 13, 2007
This is a great book in the light of "Drawing on the right side of the brain" a cool in-depth view of the process of art making specifically drawing.
April 9, 2010
the best writing i've seen about the psychological process during drawing
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July 26, 2008"Drawing, then, is a way of fostering interest in the world" p.69
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews