Michel Lauricella - Morpho: Anatomy for Artists

anatomy for artists

Michel Lauricella

Morpho: Anatomy for Artists

Michel Lauricella

Editor: Joan Dixon

Project manager: Lisa Brazieal

Marketing coordinator: Mercedes Murray

Translator: Marie Deer

Graphic design and layout: Sophie Charbonnel

Layout production: Michael Tanamachi

ISBN: 978-1-68198-374-5

1st Edition (1st printing, June 2018)

2018 Michel Lauricella

Rocky Nook Inc.

1010 B Street, Suite 350

San Rafael, CA 94901

USA

www.rockynook.com

Original French title: Morpho

French ISBN: 978-2-212-13914-3

2014 Groupe Eyrolles, Paris, France

Translation Copyright 2018 Rocky Nook, Inc.

Distributed in the U.S. by Ingram Publisher Services

Distributed in the UK and Europe by Publishers Group UK

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017958973

All rights reserved. No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission of the publisher.

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While reasonable care has been exercised in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein or from the use of the discs or programs that may accompany it.

All illustrations are by the author, with the exception of those on .

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Printed in China

Jean-Antoine Houdon, corch, 1792, Galerie Huguier, cole nationale suprieure des beaux-arts de Paris

This book was produced at Fabrica114, a studio dedicated to the study of morphology in the tradition of the National School of Fine Arts in Paris (cole nationale suprieure des beaux-arts de Paris). This tradition has been passed down by Franois Fontaine, Jean-Franois Debord, and Philippe Comar who is currently the head of the morphology department at this school. These three individuals have exposed a generation of students (myself included) to their vision of the human body. They gave us the opportunity to find our paths between a technical and mechanical approach and a more expressive and artistic approach to this art form. I give them my sincere thanks.

I also want to mention another professor at the School of Fine Arts, Dr. Paul Richer (18491933), whose book New Artistic Anatomy, (published in three volumes from 1906 to 1921) continues to serve as a highly-respected reference to this day. His worksboth books and sculptureshave occupied a central position in the schools collections, and we students were fortunate to have been given unrestricted access to his works. Dr. Richer is quoted several times throughout this book.

Finally, I would like to pay tribute to the magnificent bronze corch (a painting or sculpture of a human figure with the skin removed to display the musculaturethe literal translation of the French word corch is flayed) by Jean-Antoine Houdon (17411828). This fantastic sculpture has inspired more than one vocation.

Michel Lauricella

Morphology is learned from the drawing of live models, the foundations of which are composition (the management of formats, framing, full and empty spaces, etc.); proportions (the ratios of the various parts to each other and, in particular, of details to the whole); and balance (the alignment of various points of reference along a vertical axis, for instance the head with respect to the feet in a standing pose).

Anatomical representations can, at first, present two disadvantages: that of making us see shapes through their details at the expense of a global vision, and that of encouraging us to draw only those forms we recognize. Therefore, I recommend that you pursue a practice of sketching quickly, and that you do not lose sight of the fact that this way of knowing forms is relative, while the mystery of the body remains whole.

The foundations of drawing, as well as of morphology, should always be put into the service of a drawing in which you also invest your own personal experiences, your vision of the world, and your sensibility.

This volume is divided into six parts focusing on the head and neck, the torso, the roots of the arm, the upper limb, the lower limb, and an overview. Of course, the human body is not cut up into distinct regions, neither in terms of its shapes nor of its mechanics. For example, the trapezius (see 10 on the back cover flap) is a muscle that extends from the skull to the middle of the back and from there to the top of the shoulders. It is, therefore, largely related to the movements of the arms. While it is located in the regions of the neck, shoulders, and back, mechanically, it can be considered an arm muscle.

The letters and numbers on the drawings refer to the two tables found inside the cover flaps. As you turn the pages, you can leave the flaps open, allowing for easy reference to the tables. The bones are rendered on the drawings as abbreviations, with the corresponding table on the front flap. The muscles are rendered on the drawings as numbers, with the corresponding table on the back flap.

My goal with this book is to present the body from as many angles as possible in order to provide a large-scale vision. Multiple versions of sketches and corch figures at various levels of detail will expand the possibilities of representation available to you.

It is my hope that this book will familiarize you with the shapes of the human body, thus freeing you to concentrate on an unconstrained and personal interpretation in your own drawing. The distinctions made among the various points of reference (hard, soft, contracted, tense, relaxed) should make it possible to refine your drawing and make it more nuanced, more sensitive. Memorizing the shapes will certainly facilitate your imaginative drawing, allowing you to construct your characters in space and movement, and it will, at the very least, enrich your knowledge of your own body.

The aim of this book is to facilitate your learning. I am aware of the complexity of this discipline; therefore, I understand that this book cannot be considered a substitute for drawing live models in a studio with the help of a teacher.

The approach to body shapes taught in this book has encouraged me to reconsider all the shapes in nature, and it continues to provoke my curiosity and my wonder.