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The Reading Images Project |
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The Reading Images Project |
Style: Figures
| Figures may be
represented naturalistically, showing the artist's ability to represent
three-dimensionality as well as his understanding of anatomy, or they may
be unnaturalistic, stressing qualities of otherworldliness or unreality.
They may also be put into a variety of poses, which reveals the artist's
skill at handling difficult passages of drawing (foreshortening, for example)
and his inventiveness. He may choose to make them graceful and beautiful,
or awkward and tense, depending on the mood he wishes to create. Some
figures suggest an ideal serenity; others are filled with expression and
intensity.
Artists also tend to represent figures in a characteristic fashion; as with handwriting, there is something personal in the way artists fashion the human form. Raphael's Figures |
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Raphael's figures are naturalistic and three-dimensional. He shows a good understanding of the human body as well as formidable drawing skills in the complexity of poses that he depicts in the School of Athens. |
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Raphael
also tends to prefer graceful figures. Even when they move quickly
or assume complex poses, they have an athletic easiness that makes them
very beautiful. They are more likely to be serene than intense in
this painting. |
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Finally, Raphael is inclined to use a standard type of figure. An oval head, with wavy hair parted in the middle; wide eyes with well marked upper and lower lids; a straight nose, small mouth and rounded chin, characterize his preferred figure, which can be found in his paintings throughout his career. | |
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Figure from the School of Athens, c. 1510 |
Figure from
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