The Human Figure

by John Henry Vanderpoel

This great classic is still unrivalled for its clear, detailed presentation of thousands of fundamental features of the human figure. Every element of the body (such as the overhang of the upper lip; the puckering at the corners of the mouth; the characteristic proportions of the head, trunk, limbs, etc.; the tension between connected portions of the body; etc.) is carefully and concisely pointed out in the text. Even more helpful are the 430 pencil and charcoal drawings that illustrate each feature so that you are, in effect, shown what to look for by a master teacher.
The result is the only art instruction book which not only illustrates details of the body but directs your attention at every stage to a host of subtle points of shading, curvature, proportion, foreshortening, muscular tension, variations due to extreme age or youth, and both major and minor differences in the structure and representation of the male and female figure. Comprehensive discussions and drawings cover the eyes; nose, mouth and chin; ear; head, trunk, back and hips; neck, throat, and shoulder; shoulder and arm; hand and wrist; leg; foot; the complete figure; and other interdependent groups of structures. This is the human figure as the artist, art student, and art teacher must know it in order to avoid many deceptive errors unfortunately common in much modern portraiture, painting, and illustrative art.

Genres: Art, Drawing, Nonfiction, Reference

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 28, 1958

About the author

John Henry Vanderpoel (November 15, 1857 – May 2, 1911), born Johannes (Jan) van der Poel, was a Dutch-American artist and teacher, best known as an instructor of figure drawing.

Source: Wikipedia

Reviews

[Patrick Sherriff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a book to be read in one sitting, at least not for me, as the text is pretty dense and requires time to absorb, but that is its strength. I have much to learn in figure drawing, but I don't know of another book that shows you sketches of anatomy and then describes them in such verbal detail. Too much for me as I say to absorb in one go, but I can see it's invaluable as a reference to the artist wishing to seriously improve their eye.

Download my starter library for free here - http://eepurl.com/bFkt0X - and receive my monthly newsletter with book recommendations galore for the Japanophile, crime-fiction-lover in all of us.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm going to have o re-read this in the future. I feel like after a very intensive term on face and figure anatomy drawing, I need some time to let all the new information sink it. This book functioned as a great homework book to study from and practice with - but it's so dense and convoluted that I think it'll be best if I finish the last part after what I've learned in term/that first part of the book sinks in.

[Maryna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is one of the essentials for anyone who’s art is mostly figure and portraiture. The anatomical description is very meticulous, accompanied by illustrations of all separate body parts. The only downside to this text is that it’s also a great antidote for the insomnia, very dry read. Still it is undoubtedly very useful in order to understand the subject better, which will result in sharpening of one’s drawing skills if practiced persistently.

[Adi Halo · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is definitely a dry text book style to the writing. But as an artist it is necessary to understand the academic structural formation of your craft. Completely transcribe it in another language and further put that learning in practice. So this is a must book for anyone drawing the human figure!!!! It changes your whole perception!

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

A useful reference filled with pencil sketches and charcoal drawings of people and body parts. Poses are of the dramatic or artistic variety and not oriented towards action. It's in the public domain and you can find PDFs easily online. People who find this useful may find the various Andrew Loomis books worthwhile as well. Loomis tends towards more idealized figures and some of his books focus on action.

[Nemo Nemo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A transformative manual in the art of pencil drawing.

The early renditions of the plates are far superior.

[Satangan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came across this book in my local public joint-use library, located in the art section. I was looking for a book to help me draw, get used to the body and how it should look. I got a whole lot more than I expected when I started reading this book. I did not expect a full break down of the human figure when I checked out this book.

A really good book that goes into detail about the human figure, its anatomy, and the breakdown of drawing each part from the face and head to the feet and toes. It may feel like you are reading any other textbook, but this book is really informative and helpful in understanding how the human figure should be drawn. Along, the edges of the text and on pages throughout the book as you read. There are great perspective and POV examples that helps along with understanding the reading.

While reading, I was happy to come across page 81 because of the drawing was the exact image used for the cover of this book. This is a great book for those who are learning about drawing and especially about drawing the human figure and its body parts. It may provide insight for those who are good at drawing the human figure or aid them more into learning how to improve more.

[Mach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very slim book, it’s regardless filled with invaluable knowledge of the human figure.

Can’t say I’ve ever sat down and dedicated much time to reading the text, but the pictures are helpful enough. The images are printed in a way that is somewhat dappled at times, which makes it hard to tell exactly how each form curves. This can beneficial in some cases, since it helps you learn what details are essential for getting figures to read through clearly, but an issue on a few pages. Despite that, this book has helped me particularly in figuring out how to convey depth within the face/head.

This would be nicely paired off with Bridgeman’s guides and Hogarth’s anatomy books; they describe the figure’s forms in a blocky, geometric way, whereas Vanderpoel’s figures tend to be rather smooth and rendered in comparison.

Overall, this book conveys the human figure in a manner that’s easy enough to digest and nice for replicating in studies.

[Serge Pierro · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book with tremendous insight into figure drawing - in particular to the shading of body masses. Each component of the human body is broken down and explained. The only thing keeping it from five stars was the fact I would have liked to have seen more drawings than the ones presented. Great for life study technique.

[Tara Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't buy the Kindle version- the layout will drive you bonkers!

[Fernando · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, almost two years to finish it. I did all the drawings. Good bye!!

[O'Neal Sadler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t love this book but I didn’t hate it either. It had much to admire: clear examples and a deep, academic approach to the study of the figure. I appreciated that as it appeals to the philosophical end of drawing as much to the practical side. But that being said, it said little by way of point-by-point instruction. That’s a detail opposite of the Treatise on the Human Figure which was mainly just 100 plus page tutorial (though to be fair, it was quite insightful on the history of a given plate).

No, this book was hardly a favorite. And fortunately I’m so well enough advanced it didn’t make much difference but I wouldn’t recommend it for beginners. A great read in general but not much else.

[Ji Mun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vanderpoel has an incredible understanding of the human body. It’s been hard to follow the description and explanation of some body parts, perhaps because I know very little anatomy.

I do wish that Vanderpoel was a contemporary instructor with modern teaching tools (like video). I’ll probably end up coming back to this book after learning anatomy more. This seems like a essential book to have if wanting to pursue art seriously.

[Will Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The visual references in the book are great and can be a good subject for a master study. The text is very dry though . The author verbally describes the anatomy of the human figure but would have been better off with anatomical diagrams . The visuals in this book do not match with the text very well. I liked the book but there is a lot more out there on the subject that excels to a higher degree. Great for an experienced artist in A and P but not for anyone else

[Shaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does a really good job in communicating a planar conception of the human figure. You will leave this book with a bettered understanding of how to organise shadow/light shapes ok the figure.

However the text is quite heady and dry. I found myself skimming through the extensive descriptions of anatomy, occassionaly finding a useful passage here and there.

I do recommend copying some of the drawings here, even trying to replicate the rubbing out of light shapes method with a kneaded eraser.

[Jedkimball]

Great finished drawings for students to copy

[Sebastián Posada · Rating 5 out of 5]

The absolute best book to learn to draw the human figure.