Bridgman's Complete Guide to Drawing from Life. . - Reviews: book - book review

Arts & Activities, March, 2002 by Jerome J. Hausman

[BOOK] BRIDGMAN'S COMPLETE GUIDE TO DRAWING FROM LIFE (2001; $17.95), by George B. Bridgman; edited by Howard Simon. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016.

As a student at The Art Student's League in the 1940s, I was much taken with a number of George Bridgman's books dealing with human anatomy. In a clear and lucid way, he was able to offer instruction about drawing the human form. At the time, there was growing interest in abstraction. Yet, what persisted was this interest in figure drawing, and so it is today: Students, at all levels, are attracted to the drawing of the human form.

This is a book that combines the contents of six of Bridgman's well-known books on drawing the human figure. It would serve as a useful reference for middle- and high-school students.

Bridgman's approach has been called "constructive analysis." In a very systematic way, he helps us to see the structure that underlies what we perceive in the human form. He then outlines approaches to drawing that enable the development of the figure--from simple to complex. At all times, he invites the student to look and sense such elements as proportion, movement and balance. For some, the book will be judged to be "academic" and "out of touch" with contemporary art. For others, it will serve to meet a deeply felt need to draw the human figure from a vantage point of understanding and visual acuity.-J.J.H. For information about this publication, circle No. 388 on the Reader Service Card.