Figure Drawing Reunion

It's been too long.  After a long hiatus from figure drawing during winter break, I was finally reunited when the new semester started.  I'm taking Figure Drawing II with the same teacher I had last semester, and instead of focusing on fundamental skills of drawing from life, our focus is now on using different media.  This is also sadly my only studio art class... but that is the sacrifice you have to make if you want to finish at least one degree within five years.  

Anyway, our first mini project was a series of torso studies using white charcoal on black paper.  Instead of doing cross-hatching like this piece from my last class, I decided to do a meshy/swirly effect.  Mainly because it didn't take 10,000 years to do.  I really like how these turned out, they kind of remind me of Greek sculptures.  

Side Note: Our models had to wear black stockings that covered their arms and legs while standing in front of a black backdrop to help us focus on the torso.  This is now what I imagine when I see the Venus de Milo.

Venus de Milo, by Alexandros of Antioch, 130-100BC, marble

By the end we made two 40min torso studies of three different models over the course of four days.  Here are muh favorites:

Torso Study 1

Torso Study 2

Torso Study 3 (left) and 4 (right)

Our new project is working with conté crayons on cream colored paper.  As you can see, my first attempt on the left was nottttt so good, but by our final full figure study I got a little better.  Definitely need to practice this...

Conté Study 1 and 2 (40min each)

Conté Study - Full Figure (80min)

And since my first exam-Hell week is over, I finally have time to write about other artists!  Today's scientific illustrator is Ernst Haeckel, a revolutionary comparative anatomist and illustrator during the late nineteenth/early twentieth century.  If you have ever taken an Intro to Biology or Animal Diversity class, you have most likely seen his work.  In 1857, Haeckel abandoned his recently licensed career as a physician to study comparative anatomy.  He earned his doctorate in 1862 and conducted research focused in evolution and embryology for the next fifty years.  Throughout his research, he helped describe and name thousands of new species, and mapped the first full genealogical tree containing all life forms based on morphology.

"Tree of Life," from The Evolution of Man, Ernst Haeckel, 1879

One of his most prolific compositions of illustrations was his book Kunstformen der Natur, published in 1904.  It contains one hundred prints of organisms ranging from protists to vertebrates, many of which were first described by Haeckel.  His extremely detailed and almost psychedelic illustrations exhibit some of his tendency to use artistic license in his scientific descriptions (for which he got in trouble over a few times), but regardless, they are amazing.  If you're interested, Wikipedia has an AWESOME page for this book that includes more prints, as well as labels for many of them that list the old and revived classification names of all the species in a print (I put the individual links under each page).

Chelonia, Ernst Haeckel, 1904 - Wikipedia

Chiroptera, Ernst Haeckel, 1904 - Wikipedia

Arachnida, Ernst Haeckel, 1904 - Wikipedia

Nudibranchia, Ernst Haeckel, 1904 - Wikipedia

Prosobranchia, Ernst Haeckel, 1904 - Wikipedia

Trochilidae, Ernst Haeckel, 1904 - Wikipedia

Discomedusae, Ernst Haeckel, 1904 - Wikipedia

Acanthophracta, Ernst Haeckel, 1904 - Wikipedia

Aside from his contribution to natural illustration and classification, Haeckel also advanced the evolutionary development theory of recapitulation, of which he made this scientifically and socially controversial drawing comparing embryos from multiple vertebrates:

"Recapitulation Theory" from Anthropogenie, Ernst Haeckel, 1874

Haeckel summarized this theory with the phrase "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny," meaning that our evolutionary ancestry (phylogeny) can be seen through morphological phases during developmental growth (ontogeny).  For example, Haeckel pointed out that human embryos have pharyngeal slits during a phase in development, which he related to the gills of adult fish, proposing that a fish-like ancestor existed within our phylogeny.  Haeckel's illustration was later debunked as a false representation, however, as he overemphasized similarities among these embryos to better suit a simplified version of this process.  While the theory of recapitulation still exists today, it has been largely modified to acknowledge the complexities of how development correlates with evolution.

Haeckel overall had a wide range of influence in evolution and biology, both good and not-so-good.  On the downside, he was against Darwin's theory of natural selection (believing in Lamarckism instead), was notorious for taking large leaps in his scientific claims without thorough evidence, and was even a leading proponent of "scientific racism," believing that Caucasians were higher evolved, and therefore more intelligent than Africans who were closer related to apes.  But biology has Haeckel to thank for many things.  He was the first to coin the terms ecology, phylogeny, and stem cell.  He was one of the first to consider psychology a branch of physiology.  And his illustrations helped expose the theory of evolution to the public for the first time.

To honor his greatness, Haeckel now has two mountains named after him in California and New Zealand, as well as an asteroid.  These have now been added to my life goals, along with getting my face on a dollar bill like Maria Sybilla Merian.



One last thing: The tumblr blog Cave to Canvas did a really cool expose on Ernst Haeckel a couple days ago (where I got many of my images from), and they focus on a different artist every day in all types of media and fields.  You should check it out!