Heads, Features and Faces (Dover Anatomy for Artists) - Hardcover

Bridgman, George B

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1626544972 ISBN 13: 9781626544970

Publisher: Echo Point Books & Media, 2016

Synopsis

Properly rendering human heads, features, and faces numbers among the most challenging aspects of figure drawing and painting. This concise and useful book-written by a world-renowned art instructor-is entirely devoted to the artistic study of the human head and its deep capacity for detail and expression. With more than half a century's worth of experience as an artist and lecturer at the Art Students League of New York, George B. Bridgman is a uniquely qualified instructor. His clearly articulated lessons are accompanied by nearly 200 examples and diagrams that demonstrate how best to portray heads, features, and faces.

Bridgman emphasizes the importance of understanding the relationships between facial features and the planes of the head. He considers round and square forms; how to draw the head at eye level, above eye level, and below eye level; and eyes, noses, mouths, and ears individually. Lessons are also included on light and shadow, comparative measurements, and the principles of oval and cube constructions. The ultimate beginner's guide to accurately rendering the human head, Heads, Features and Faces is a must-have for any serious study of human figures.

Readers interested in related titles from George B. Bridgman will also want to see: The Book of a Hundred Hands (ISBN: 9781626543454).

About this title

From the Back Cover

Certainly one of the most difficult, often neglected areas of art study is the correct rendering of heads, features, and faces. This volume, prepared by an expert in the field, is devoted exclusively to just that. With its clear, concise text, its almost 200 excellent illustrations, and its overall life-drawing approach, the book provides valuable guidelines on how best to portray faces, features, and heads.
There is probably no better instructor to turn to than George B. Bridgman. He brings to the subject both his expertise as an artist and his fifty years' experience as lecturer and teacher at the Art Students League of New York. Throughout the book, he places as much emphasis on perspective and planes as on anatomy. In this way, you'll develop a more precise understanding of each feature, the head and face in general, the relationship between features, and the relationship between a specific feature and the face or head. Mr. Bridgman's consideration of the head includes such topics as the head at eye level and below eye level; planes of the head; and round and square forms. Four features—eye, nose, mouth, ear—are dealt with in detail. Sections on light and shade, comparative measurements, and principles of cube and oval construction further enhance the scope of the book. The finely executed drawings complement the textual material, illustrating all important concepts.  
Of special value is the author's inclusion of the work of famous portrait artists. Vermeer, Hals, Rembrandt, Reynolds, Louise Elisabeth LeBrun—these are the people who made portraiture a master art; and you'll be able to study, up close and at your leisure, the qualities that let their work achieve the status it did.
Unabridged republication of the original 1932 edition.

About the Author

Canadian artist George Brandt Bridgman (1865–1943) studied at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris and taught at New York City's Art Students League. Generations of students have learned the principles of anatomy and figure drawing from his books, which rank among Dover's most popular art instruction texts.

About this edition

• Publisher: Echo Point Books & Media
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1626544972
• ISBN 13: 9781626544970
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 66