Chapter 21, Study Sculptures’ Big Forms: To Create Expressive Figures in Paint
From my upcoming new edition (May 2024) of The Art Studio Companion
166 Peter Schipperheyn, Madonna. Permission from the artist.
In this study, we examine how sculptors dynamically compose the human figure.
As painters, we can learn a lot from how sculptors bring out the big, abstract form of the figure.
Painters deal with non-figure stuff like interiors or landscapes, so they often become distracted and don’t compose the figure as well as sculptors. With a little extra effort painters can approach the figure like sculptors, by finding a great pose. But what constitutes a great pose?
Let’s start with looking at Peter Schipperheyn's Madonna. We can observe a pattern of three abstract mountain peaks. The abstract pattern is like an echo or rhythm. There are many intricate details in this sculpture, such as the expression and facial features, the intricate hands, and the folds of the fabric—which make it easy to get lost in detail and lose sight of the big form. Peter's adherence to the rhythm of the three peaks guides the viewer through the work, maintaining flow. Also there is a very clever symbolical element: these peaks can represent the earth pointing towards the heavens.
167 Schipperheyn, Madonna. With my markup.
168 Schipperheyn, Zarathustra. With my markup. Permission from the artist.
Notice the arcs of Schipperheyn’s monumental Zarathustra. The green overlay shows the accent on the arched back and the forearms echoing the back’s arch. The theme of the work is the eureka moment, of a great insight. Zarathustra is credited for the first person to coin the concept of free will. Dates of when he lived vary wildly, but safe to place him around 800 B.C. give or take a few hundred years!
His body is arched back, ready to spring forward, like a willow switch that has been pulled back and primed to snap. His two arms repeat the angle of the arched body, with the added emphasis of the backs of his right fist snapping against his left palm. Though his body and face are highly detailed, it is the abstracted design of arches that gives a sense he is ready to spring into action, armed by the knowledge that he is free to do so.
169 Vaugel, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Goat. With my markup. Permission from the artist.
Notice the triangular shape of Martine Vaugel’s Portrait of the Artist as a Young Goat. Martine, in a few of her pieces, likes to bring out the animal passion of her female protagonists, like in Praying Mantis, and this piece. I think this piece was titled long before the acronym GOAT, meaning greatest of all time, came about, but that is a nice addition. What Martine has accomplished is combining the abstract silhouette of a goat perched on a rock with a woman’s unapologetic animalistic physical desire. An interesting aside is that the intelligence and brilliance of the sculptor empower the figure with those qualities as well—serving to celebrate women in all their range of expression.
Though sculptors create full figures in the round, and their works can be seen from every angle, they often have a preferred view, like the profile of this sculpture. For painters, we often run into the problem of foreshortening. If we were facing this sculpture straight on, it would be harder to identify the abstract shape. Therefore, it is wise for a painter to look for the view that best expresses the pose, like this silhouetted view.
One of the hallmarks of great art is its visibility from a distance. I recall seeing a Rembrandt self-portrait at a museum—I can't recall if it was at the Met or the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam—centered on the back wall of a large room. Even from three rooms away, the portrait appeared more three-dimensional than the real people strolling the museum. It's worth noting that even when the image is shrunk to a small size, this is an artistic trick to give us an idea of how the artwork will register at a great distance.
Notice how well Martine’s sculpture registers small. Looking at tiny thumbnails is a wonderful way to see how well your image will hold up from a huge distance. If you can imbue your painted figure with a good abstract shape it will register well from close to afar.
170 Vaugel, Women Holding Desire. With my markup. Permission from the artist.
Another Vaugel sculpture, Women Holding Desire (this is the bottom section of the entire sculpture). Diagonals in art represent dynamic energy, while horizontals convey calmness, and verticals convey stoic resolve. In Women Holding Desire, Martine is accenting two dynamic diagonals: the backward arch of the woman’s back and the angle of the forward upper left leg. These two diagonals are then slashed by a third diagonal, the angle of the woman’s lower back and butt. This conveys the idea that holding on and being true to desire is a crazy balance of dynamic forces that sometimes conflict.
171 Vaugel, Desire in the Absence of Reason. With my markup. Permission from the artist.
Martine Vaugel’s Desire in the Absence of Reason is a striking piece. With a straight-on frontal view, the woman’s outstretched arms and legs form a bold "X" shape. This shape is both dynamic and restrictive, creating an interesting paradox. The sculpture depicts a woman passionately grasping a void. Can you see how the passionate element is accentuated by the dynamic diagonals of the “X,” while simultaneously blocking any possibility of fulfillment? It's a stunning psychological expression, conveying how wonderous art can be. Despite being made of shaped metal, it manages to convey the depths of the human psyche.
The importance of abstracting the big forms is threefold:
1. The big form guides the viewer’s eye through the work without losing momentum.
2. The big form maintains the figure’s structure when viewed from tremendous distance.
3. The big form can powerfully convey and support emotional and intellectual themes on the highest levels of expression.
172 Newberry, Icarus Landing. With my markup.
An example of how I have learned from sculptors is shown in my painting Icarus Landing. I wanted an iconic big form to convey the concept of Icarus landing safely back on Earth. The significant part of the legend is that in his teenage exuberance, he flew too high, flew too close to the sun, and the wax of his wings melted, causing him to crash and burn. I always hated that outcome, including the chickenshit moral of “don’t go for your highest because if you try it, you will fail.” So I had the concept to reverse the outcome: that flying as high as you can when you are young will give you tremendous knowledge and experience, which you can bring back to Earth.
While sketching 30-second visual ideas for Icarus, I happened upon likely the most famous pose of all art: Christ being crucified. It is a very beautiful pose of the human figure, yet with the horribly gruesome machinery for torture and death. Then it hit me: since I was reversing the legend of Icarus, I could reverse the meaning of the crucifix pose as well. Remove the cross, keep the elegant and beautiful pose, and instead of Christ finding heaven in death, he brings heaven to earth. That was it!
173 Traditional Cruciform Church: St. Sernin
c. 1080-1120 https://rwmiller2015art.wordpress.com
The abstract shape for Icarus is essentially a Romanesque cruciform floorplan. The Christian symbolism is that the vertical is Christ’s body, the horizontals are his arms outstretched to welcome new communities, and at the top is the head of Christ. But aesthetically, I see the symbolism differently: the vertical is resolve and strength of character, the horizontals are a calm, zen-like ease of taking each moment fully and easily, and the head at the top represents how magnificent human thought is.
And when the image of Icarus is presented small the image holds up very well.
By seeking the big and abstract form of the model's body, artists can create extraordinarily powerful and impactful images.
Practice #1
As always, it is crucial to reinforce your understanding through practice. We have been studying how great sculptures have wonderful and powerful big shapes to them. For this lesson find five figurative sculptures from great artists that you love and do quick (5- to 15-minutes) contour sketches of them, like I did in demo 166. This practice will empower your eye to seek out these big shapes and help you create your own.
174 Newberry. A quick ink sketch of Nike of Samothrace.
Practice #2
As always, it is crucial to reinforce your understanding through practice. This next lesson takes five minutes! Lightly draw an abstract rectangle, circle, “S” curve, or a star shape and then draw a crude figure, even a stick figure is okay, mimicking the abstract shape. I took one or two minutes for each of these in demo 167. Notice that even these very simple sketches have different emotional import. Clockwise from the upper left: star shape, vertical rectangle, “S” curve, and a circle. Just spending a few minutes with this practice will open up your imagination for countless emotional expressions.
175 Newberry. Demo combining an abstract shape with quick, one-to-five-minute figure sketches.
I really love your explanation for Icarus Landing and how the popular image of Jesus on a cross shown in many sculptures inspired your painting! The subject in Icarus Landing is ethereally presented; reminding me of the divine. 💫✨
From reading this article and studying the different sculptures I believe this would also be a good study for dance choreographers! Thank you Michael, I always learn so much from you! 🖼 🎨 🥰
Thank you for restacking @Joyce! 😀❤️💫