History and Depictions of the Human Figure

Ever since our pre-historic ancestors first etched line drawings of themselves and their experiences upon cave walls we have been recreating the human figure through art. The human figure, whether clothed or nude, is one of the most common subjects for a piece of art, and it’s really interesting to see how our depiction and approach towards it has adapted over the years.

Origins

The first ever depictions of the human form, and form in general, is that of the cave men. These artworks were scratched into or marked upon cave walls using sticks and natural dyes (e.g. berries, plants). Neanderthals used this technique as a form of story telling and it’s because of images such as these that we were able to learn about how these people would hunt, behave and interact.

The Ancient Egyptians had a systematic way of producing paintings of humans. Important figures were portrayed as larger than others, giving them an almost God-like appearance. The Ancient Egyptians would paint murals onto the walls of tombs and, as we all know, would mummify the dead. Much of the artwork created by the Egyptians had a lot to do with their religion; the artworks that they created were designed to help important people, such as Pharaohs, in the afterlife.

The Romans focused on storytelling and religion in their artwork. As well as painting, sculpture become a widely used form of depicting the human form, as you can see above. Whilst I absolutely love both styles, I have to say that there’s something completely fascinating about the sculptures from this era; the accuracy of the human form the Romans have managed to portray through this form of art is incredible. Knowing how much resources have changed over the hundreds of years since then, I just know that days, weeks, months of time went into these and that makes them all the more captivating.

Renaissance

During the Renaissance period, artists continued to focus on religion as their inspiration. But it was during this era that things began to change. Italian artists such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo began to create more detailed and realistic representations of humans, using the sfumato technique. This is something I’ve never heard of before; the technique of allowing tones and colours to shade gradually into one another, producing softened outlines or hazy forms.

Science also plays its part in the artwork created in this era. Da Vinci used his knowledge of the human anatomy to create his sketch of the Virtruvian Man in 1490, and through his life he continued to create more and more realistic depictions of the human form.

In the Sistine Chapel in Rome, Michelangelo painted this outstanding piece of work – The Last Judgement. There is a vast variety of figures and poses within this piece; some clothed, some not, some large, some smaller. This really showed his wonderful talent as he was able to depict the human body in a wide number of ways. This piece is so beautiful. This image is incredibly moving and so stunning, even as a photograph on the internet.

I can only imagine how it would be to view this, standing in front of it in the Sistine Chapel.

16th & 17th Century

Moving into the 16th Century, artists began to follow in the same steps as those of the Renaissance. They used very similar techniques and creative styles, however, began to involve more movement and sensuality within the work they created; this added a greater depth of feeling to artwork focused on religion and such.

In my experience, I find these far more interesting; each one seems to tell a story, and they remind me of classic books such as Treasure Island due to the familiar painting style that is common of book covers of this era.

The fine and delicate details within these paintings are what make them so striking. It’s really interesting to see the progression of detail and accuracy as we move further towards modern day. In particular, I love the one on the right. There is something mysterious about it and I find myself unable to look away. The more that I stare at it, the more that jumps out at me. I adore the colour palette used, which contrasts the two figures beautifully. It almost seems to me as though the painting is telling a story, and that one figure is innocent, and the other, not so much. The use of tone to create the fabric, skin tones, and textures of the different areas is so incredibly brilliant that I can’t seem to look away. It’s funny, I would never stop to look at something like this in a museum, however, now that I have taken the time to actually study it, I can’t stop.

18th & 19th Century

These paintings are just gorgeous. I’m especially obsessed with the one on the far right. How BEAUTIFUL.

Again, these paintings focus on religion and history, however, I am able to see a movement towards other forms of inspiration; portraits of family, loved ones, life events, normality. Well-known artists such as Gustave Courbet began to depict ordinary human forms, instead of heroic or historical figures.

It was during this era that the naked female body began to make a real public appearance within paintings, and shocked viewers. It’s true that we have seen many a naked body in art up until now, however, not quite as casual and everyday as this. These are paintings of women in their homes, in their natural habitats; and these are not goddesses or iconic women – they are just women.

See below a range of paintings from artists Gustave Courbet and Edgar Degas; the pioneers of flaunting the female body in all its glory:

Manet often used controversial subjects such as beggars or prostitutes, which inspired other artists. I find this really interesting. I really admire that these artists took their inspiration from those without riches, glamour or desirable lifestyles. Whilst all of the paintings looked at feature very real subjects, I find these more realistic and emotive, as they’re human beings in a more natural form and relatable setting; in bed, in the park, on the sofa, with all lumps and bumps on show. It’s really refreshing to see women painted in an honest way, without any alterations made to the body; no curves erased, no imperfections edited out. A real woman! I never thought I’d see an image of one of those again. It’s very inspiring and comforting because, as a woman in 2020, it’s hard to not see skinny, flawless women on every billboard or magazine cover, and the women in these paintings are very normal, very beautiful, and very confident! I love it.

20th Century & Today

Moving into more contemporary portrayals of the human form, I discovered Egon Schiele; an Austrian painter and early advocate of Expressionism. His paintings of female nudes promote confidence and sexuality, and his abstract approach to them gives them a very unique and recognisable energy.

I love the almost unfinished quality of these pieces; it fills me with more confidence in my own work. I have more of an interest in quirkier, linear designs such as this, and would be super keen to reflect this in my future work. I have a tendency to hold back my own style as I want to fit into the course criteria and often feel anxious that I’ll go too far and it won’t be good enough. I spoke with my tutor about this and she told me to just go with how I feel and I feel way more confident with that. As you can see from Schiele, he has completely thrown caution to the wind and has gone down his own route in regards to creating form.

Simple, yet SO impactful.

And, of course, how could I forget iconic artists such as Picasso and Matisse, who’s contemporary portraits are something known and loved by all, whether you’re an art lover or not.

The approaches that these artists take on their subjects (specifically Picasso) are not conventional and by no means realistic; they view their subjects and they re-create them in their own style. I love the abstract, bizarre nature of these portraits and could look at them all day.

Picasso says things through his work in a way that best suits him and the piece he’s creating. Like other artists, he does not dedicate himself to just one style, but, in a way, lets the style choose him. One approach to painting that really shines through is that to Cubism; in Cubist paintings objects are broken apart and reassembled in an abstracted form, highlighting their composite geometric shapes and depicting them from multiple, simultaneous viewpoints in order to create physics-defying, collage-like effects. Both destructive and creative, Cubism shocked, appalled and fascinated the art world. Another approach that might be interesting and, again, stepping outside the box and really branching out. Picasso is real proof that anything is possible in art and limiting yourself is not the way to live your life.

Another artist that I briefly looked at was Lucian Freud, who maintained realism when things got a little wild. He uses tone and patches of colour to create close up portraits of human forms, mostly males. I find these paintings really moving and, for some reason, very European. I can’t quite put my finger on what exactly makes me feel this way, but it’s great. I really do like these pieces, however, this style isn’t quite my cup of tea. They’re a little boring and I don’t find them captivating in the same way as the Picasso or Matisse paintings. Maybe a little taste of the weird and wonderful has dulled my appreciation for anything slightly normal for now.

I will say that, whilst all of the above paintings are wonderful and absolutely breathtaking in their own ways, I do much prefer contemporary approaches to the human figure.