Albinus on Anatomy

281 Pages·2013·16.41 MB·English

by  Bernhard Siegfried Albinus

ALBINUS ON ANATOMY
With 80 Original Albinus Plates
BY ROBERT BEVERLY HALE AND TERENCE
COYLE
D P , I
OVER UBLICATIONS NC
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EW ORK
ROBERT BEVERLY HALE, considered America’s preeminent teacher of artistic anatomy in his lifetime,
was born in Boston in 1901. He studied at Columbia University and at the Art Students League with George
Bridgman. Hale served from 1941 to 1949 on the staff of Art News. He was Instructor of Drawing and
Lecturer on Anatomy at the Art Students League from 1944 until his retirement in 1982. Hale also lectured
in anatomy at Columbia University from 1945 to 1967, at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts from
1968 to 1975, and at Cooper Union from 1973 to 1978. In 1948 he became the first Curator of American
Painting and Sculpture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, eventually attaining the title of Curator
Emeritus. In 1977, Hale was awarded the first New York City Mayor’s Award of Honor in Art and Culture.
He was an artist and, in addition, a poet, publishing frequently in The New Yorker. Hale died in 1985. His
books include Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters, Anatomy Lessons from the Great Masters (with
Terence Coyle), and Artistic Anatomy (as translator and editor of Dr. Paul Richer’s classic text).
TERENCE COYLE was born in Williamstown, Massachusetts and educated at Columbia University and
the Art Students League, where he studied with and assisted Robert Beverly Hale. Since 1974, Coyle has
taught figure and portrait painting at the Art Students League. He lectured in artistic anatomy and drawing
at New York University in 1979, and since then has been the lecturer in artistic anatomy at the National
Academy School of Fine Arts, New York. Coyle teaches an annual workshop in figure and portrait painting
at the Scottsdale Artist School in Arizona, In 1985, he compiled and edited the Hale Lectures in the book
Master Class in Figure Drawing. Terence Coyle’s paintings have been highly acclaimed and have been
acquired by the New York State Museum in Albany, the Museum of the City of New York, and Fordham
University.
Copyright
Copyright © 1979 by Watson-Guptill Publications.
Introduction to Dover Edition Copyright © 1988 by Terence Coyle.
Bibliographical Note
This Dover edition, first published in 1988, is an unabridged and corrected republication of the work
originally published by Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, in 1979, under the title Albinus on
Anatomy. The present edition is published by special arrangement with Watson-Guptill Publications, 1515
Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10036. A new Introduction to the Dover Edition by Terence Coyle has been
written specially for this edition.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Albinus, Bernhard Siegfried, 1697–1770.
Albinus on anatomy.
Reprint. Originally published: New York : Watson-Guptill, 1979.
Includes index.
1. Anatomy, Human—Early works to 1800. 2. Anatomy, Artistic— Early works to 1800. I. Hale, Robert
Beverly, 1901–1985. II. Coyle, Terence. III. Title.
QM21.A28 1988 611 88-20424
ISBN-13: 978-0-486-25836-2
ISBN-10: 0-486-25836-X
Manufactured in the United States by Courier Corporation 25836X15
www.doverpublications.com
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We wish to thank the New York Academy of Medicine for the generous use of
their material and facilities, and especially Mrs. Alice D. Weaver, head of the
Malloch Rare Book and History Room, for her gracious assistance. We also
were fortunate in obtaining the fine photographic expertise of Lee Boltin, which
was of essential importance to the quality of the finished book.
We are indebted to Don Holden, Editorial Director of Watson-Guptill
Publications, who first encouraged the idea of the book and initiated the project,
and to Marsha Melnick, who organized and guided our initial efforts. Finally, we
wish to thank our editor, Bonnie Silverstein, whose unwavering patience and
efficiency saw us through to completion, and Bob Fillie, for the excellent design
of the book.
INTRODUCTION TO THE DOVER EDITION
When the first edition of Albinus on Anatomy came out in 1979 there was strong
evidence of a growing interest in the study of the human figure. Today, this
focus is greater than ever. The study of basic anatomy has always been an
important point of departure for the study and creation of artistic form. In the
present day, Artistic Anatomy is taught as a basic course in most art schools and
art departments of universities. Art educators realize more than ever that without
a knowledge of basic structure and muscular function, it is difficult for an artist
to understand the great mysteries of design common to all living creatures. The
works of such masters as Leonardo, Dürer, Michelangelo, Rubens, Raphael, and
Degas reflect this basic knowledge and understanding of the relationship of form
and function. In his Trattato della Pittura, Leonardo wrote that a knowledge of
bone structure and muscular articulation was essential for the artist to become
aware of the true nature and design of organic form. He advised that through
such study artists can avoid “the wooden and graceless nudes that seem rather as
if you were looking at a sack of nuts than a human form, or a bundle of radishes
rather than the muscles of nudes.”
Robert Beverly Hale felt that the beautifully detailed plates of Albinus’ classic
study clearly and accurately illustrated the subject matter of the famous Hale
Lecture Series which he was then conducting at the Art Students League. In that
context Hale reminds us, “Drawing, which is much like a language, is the art of
communication with others through the illusion of shapes, and you learn to draw,
paint and sculpt by coming to shape conclusions. We draw what we know and
not what we see. And when we know something, we begin to see it as it really is.
Drawing is going past the layman’s knowledge. If you don’t know what you are
drawing, how can you have a shape conception? If we can’t identify the
anatomical parts, we don’t know they exist, and if we don’t know they exist, we
can’t draw, paint or sculpt them.”
Robert Beverly Hale died in 1985, but the legend of America’s greatest
teacher of Artistic Anatomy has continued to grow. In response to an
unparalleled demand for Hale material, Rosina Florio, the Director of the Art
Students League, had tapes of the Hale Lecture Series restored and made
available to the public on videotape. And in that same year, just before he died,
Hale’s lectures were published in book form as Master Class in Figure Drawing.
It is very fitting, and Hale would be very pleased, that this Dover edition of
Albinus on Anatomy will round out the Hale legacy by making this invaluable
work available to an ever widening audience of artists.
On my last visit with Hale in his retirement at Newburyport shortly before he
died, he reminisced about his long teaching career. He spoke of how much he
missed teaching and the students who were so much a part of his life. “Of
course, a nice thing about learning about Artistic Anatomy is that you
considerably increase the pleasure of life. You begin to see things you never
noticed before—you become sensitive to shapes, textures, and the play of light.
You begin to see things with an artist’s eye, and there is really a very good
chance that you will never again be bored as long as you live.”
TERENCE COYLE
New York, 1988
CONTENTS
Preface
An Account of Albinus’ Work
On Drawing the Figure
CHAPTER ONE: THE BONES AND MUSCLES OF THE BODY
The Skeleton, Front View
The Skeleton, Back View
The Skeleton, Side View
The Outermost Order of Muscles, Front View
The Outermost Order of Muscles, Back View
The Outermost Order of Muscles, Side View
The Second Order of Muscles, Front View
The Second Order of Muscles, Back View
The Third Order of Muscles, Front View
The Third Order of Muscles, Back View
The Fourth Order of Muscles, Front View
The Fourth Order of Muscles, Back View
CHAPTER TWO: THE HEAD AND NECK
The Skull, Front View
The Skull, Back View
The Skull, Side View
The Muscles of the Cranium, Eye, Nose, and Ear
The Muscles of the Cheek, Mouth, and Chin
The Muscles of the Cranium, Jaw, and Neck
The Muscles of the Lower Lip and Neck
The Muscles of the Head and Neck: Semispinalis Capitis (Complexus)
The Muscles of the Neck
The Muscles of the Neck (Continued)
CHAPTER THREE: THE VERTEBRAL COLUMN AND RIB CAGE
The Vertebral Column: Cervical Vertebrae
The Vertebral Column: Dorsal (Thoracic) Vertebrae
The Vertebral Column: Lumbar Vertebrae
The Vertebral Column: Sacrum and Coccyx
The Rib Cage, Front View
The Rib Cage, Back View
The Rib Cage, Side View
The Rib Cage: The Sternum (Breast Bone)
The External Oblique
The Muscles of the Abdomen
The Muscles of the Back, Deep Layer, Erector Spinae
CHAPTER FOUR: THE PELVIS AND THIGH
The Pelvis, Front View
The Pelvis, Back View
The Pelvis, Outer View
The Femur
The Femur (Continued)
The Muscles of the Pelvis, Outermost Order
The Muscles of the Pelvis, Second Order
The Muscles of the Thigh, Front Views: Adductor Group
The Muscles of the Thigh, Front Views
The Muscles of the Thigh, Front Views: Quadriceps Femoris Group
The Muscles of the Thigh, Back Views: Hamstring Group
CHAPTER FIVE: THE KNEE AND LOWER LEG
The Bones of the Knee and Lower Leg: Patella and Tibia
The Bones of the Lower Leg: Tibia (Continued)
The Bones of the Lower Leg: Fibula
The Muscles of the Lower Leg, Superficial Layer, Front Views
The Muscles of the Lower Leg, Superficial Layer, Back Views
The Muscles of the Lower Leg: Tibialis Posterior
The Muscles of the Lower Leg, Deep Layer
The Muscles of the Lower Leg (Continued)
CHAPTER SIX: THE FOOT