Human Anatomy for Artists: The Elements of Form

By Eliot Goldfinger

Book Overview

The power of the image of the nude--the expressivity of the flesh--has inspired artists from the beginning. An understanding of human form is essential for artists to be able to express themselves with the figure. Anatomy makes the figure. Human Anatomy for Artists: The Elements of Form is the definitive analytical work on the anatomy of the human figure.
No longer will working artists have to search high and low to find the information they need. In this, the most up-to-date and fully illustrated guide available, Eliot Goldfinger--sculptor, illustrator, scientific model-maker, and lecturer on anatomy--presents a single, all-inclusive reference to human form, capturing everything artists need in one convenient volume. Five years in the making, and featuring hundreds of photos and illustrations, this guide offers more views of each bone and muscle than any other book ever published: every structure that creates or influences surface form is individually illustrated in clear, carefully lit photographs and meticulous drawings. Informed by the detailed study of both live models and cadavers, it includes numerous unique presentations of surface structures--such as fat pads, veins, and genitalia--and of some muscles never before photographed. In addition, numerous cross sections, made with reference to CT scans, magnetic resonance imaging, and cut cadavers, trace the forms of all body regions and individual muscles. Information on each structure is placed on facing pages for ease of reference, and the attractive two-color format uses red ink to direct readers rapidly to important points and areas. Finally, an invaluable chapter on the artistic development of basic forms shows in a series of sculptures the evolution of the figure, head, and hands from basic axes and volumes to more complex organic shapes. This feature helps place the details of anatomy within the overall context of the figure.
Certain to become the standard reference in the field, Human Anatomy for Artists will be indispensable to artists and art students, as well as art historians. It will also be a useful aid for physical and dance therapists, athletes and their trainers, bodybuilders, and anyone concerned with the external form of the human body. With the renewed interest in figurative art today, this will be an especially welcome volume.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195052064
• ISBN13: 9780195052060
• Release Date: November 1991
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 4.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 9.3" x 12.3"

Customer Reviews

Great reference book

As an anatomy reference for artists, this book is fabulous. I have not yet seen its equal. It has detailed drawings of all the bones and muscles of the body from multiple angles, and goes through the layers of muscles as well (again, from multiple angles), showing where the muscles connect to the bones. It also has useful text descriptions for increased clarity where pictures might not be enough (such as explaining the function of a muscle). It isn't a good book to learn anatomy from, but I recommend it whole-heartedly as a detailed anatomy reference for artists who already have a decent understanding of human anatomy.

Very Informative

This is a very detailed book and a must have for those that need to know more about animal anatomy. This book does layout the skeletal and muscular design of the used animals very well. One thing that it does not give you is a detailed description of exactly how the joints move or muscles work. But overall a must have if you are doing an animal study for sculpture or 3-d modeling.

Features over 500 original drawings and over 70 photos

Artists who plan on focusing on animals had better pick up a copy of Animal Anatomy For Artists: The Elements Of Form: a virtual 'Bible' of animal anatomy, is features over five hundred original drawings and over seventy photos which painters, sculptors, and illustrators can use to understand the underlying anatomy of a range of common and wild animals. Forms created by muscles and bones provide artists with a three-dimensional figure of the final surface of the animal, while Goldfinger provides discussions of how each piece of animal anatomy interacts with another.

comprehensive, well-organized

Obviously, no one book can completely cover the subject of human anatomy, but this is the most complete reference for muscles that I know of. Basically, every muscle has it's own section: a page of illustration & photos, and a page or two of text. As a result, virtually everything about the muslces is clear, and I cannot say this about other books. There is also information on bones, facial expression, and drawings that simplify the structure of the body. However, I reccomend the book mainly because of how well it covers muslces. This is an especially nice reference if you can also study a real skeleton and live models

Comprehensive is the best way to describe it

I am giving this book five stars because it is a wonderous work. The photography and illustrations are clear and instructive. The descriptions leave nothing out that you could wish to know about the different muscles and bones. It really is amazing. Towards the back of the book are some fascinating sculptures breaking the bodies surfaces into planes of varying degrees of complexity. Everything in the book is of a very high quality. The only real negative I have to say is really not about the book. It is that the artist can get bogged down in studying this book forever trying to learn every muscle and how it connects. This is useful information but you don't need to know but a tiny fraction of what is in this huge book. And this book is not instructive on teaching you how to draw this anatomy. That is not the fault of the author. That is not the intent of this book. Human Anatomy for the Artist is an exhaustive reference volume you might want to own just in case you want to know everything there is to know about a specific body part. It is also a beautiful book anyone would be proud to own. You will learn a lot from this book every time you pick it up. It will not necessarily help you become a better artist. You will need to learn classic drawing techniques to do that. Your knowlege of anatomy will help you see forms on the model and help you understand them. Combining anatomy with an understanding of how to render forms by understanding light and shadow, proportions, lines, gesture will give you additional power in your drawings. Just remember anatomy is only one very small part.