Research: Historic and contemporary artist whose work involves the underlying the structure of the b

Leonardo Da Vinci.

In the middle ages and the renaissance the main subject was the human figure, which appeared in almost all paintings.

Leonardo was a polymath, one of whose many areas of interest was anatomy. His extensive scientific research on the subject formed part of the development of his art and he studied the functioning of the human body primarily out of an artistic desire to perfect his representation of the human figure.

His early drawings were based on information or deduction from the exterior of the human body but his later work was based on dissected bodies, and by his own account Leonardo dissected 30 corpses in his lifetime, in hospitals and medical schools. Some of Leonardo’s surviving works on the underlying structure of the human body are -

Reference:

Frank Zollner, 2011, Taschen, Leonardo da Vinci – the complete painting and drawings. Leonardo da Vinci: Anatomist, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdxEF51kY_4

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci

Susan Dorothea White, Australia, 1951

White is a painter, sculptor and printmaker who lives and works in Sydney and has had a career spanning more than 50 years.

Below are some of her studies of anatomical analysis based on the works of Michelangelo, Leonardo and Rodin, drawn in the University of Sidney laboratory from embalmed and preserved human dissections.

The first is Head and upper torso bisected (both halves), external and internal aspects - and done in 2001. It shows the dissected upper part of a male in his 70s with the body cut in two from the top of the head through the ribcage, revealing the inside as well as the outside of the body, and his arm, severed up to the elbow.

The drawing is in pencil and conté on 29.5 x 42 cm light brow paper and the colours used are light yellow, light blue, sepia and magenta. Although the subject is quite spooky the energy is very soft, very effective, and it make you look. I absolutely love it, the colours, composition and softness of her work are incredible.

Secondly - Chin up! - Neck and lower jaw (right side): muscles, glands, inferior view, 2006

Pastel, 29 x 21 cm

http://www.drawingonanatomy.com.au/homeD/index.html

http://susandwhite.com.au/biography.php

Fernando Vicente’s Anatomical Art, Spain, 1963

Fernando Vicente is a Spanish artist whose style is a combination of Illustration and painting, and Gravida, Acrylic on canvas is part of his series Vanitas:

Showing a pregnant woman in a classical illustration style, he also shows a dissected view of the woman and the developing foetus.

I found it very interesting that he kept the classical vintage atmosphere despite the very intimate subject. The pinks and white contrast strongly with the black dress and the turquoise background, but there is soft energy to the painting; the colours and the softness of the woman’s face, and the baby in the womb, make for a very compelling piece of work.

https://trendland.com/fernando-vicentes-anatomical-art/