Research Point 

Historic and contemporary artists whose work involves the underlying structure of the body 

Historic examples: 

Michelangelo 1475-1564: 

Renaissance artists studied anatomy as an essential way of learning to draw the human form. These studies (1500-1510) eventually became so detailed through research that they surpassed any medical journal of the time and were used in universities to teach anatomy. 

Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci became renowned for their human dissection illustrated research that they became leaders in this field, the majority of artists working on on the surface of the skin. The opportunity to dissect a human body at this time was a rare and limited. 

Leonardo Da Vinci 1452 - 1519:

Leonardo Da Vinci is considered the most significant artist anatomist. 

His first studies show the form of the human skull in 1489. Da Vinci used the technique used in architecture - Plan, section and elevation. 

Da Vinci's most precise drawings were created by human dissection whilst working alongside Marcantonio della Torre, a Professor of Anatomy. Although unpublished in his lifetime, Da Vinci's studies saw the illustrated muscle structure of the body dissected in layers. Necessary research in developing art for all artists. 

Peter Paul Rubens 1577 - 1640: 

Ruben's respected and admired the detailed research of Michelangelo and Da Vinci. With a humanist education, Ruben's is considered a master of  'Baroque' painting (drama, dynamism, movement, tension). 

Ruben's explored human movement and used cross hatching to build muscle, a technique favoured by Leonardo Da Vinci. However, determined to show more than those previously. Ruben's explored movement with the limbs at strained or difficult angles. More than a research study but lively and dramatic compositions. His drawing's so such strength and ability of the human body. 

Contemporary examples: 

Rebecca D Harris: 

Harris is a contemporary artist you uses textiles and lived experience to interpret female exploration. Exploring photographs of her own body, printing them and then using embroidery she has not only depicted the sculpture of the female form but has also explored the emotional layers that go hand in hand with it. Personal and emotional studies of the female body, her own body. As personal as art can be. 

Walter Oltmann: 

Oltmann's 2007 ink drawing 'Bleeder' shows the arterial structure of the human body in red inks. Unusual to see the structure of the body explored in this way and a new insight. The human figure looks almost like a tree with roots. Decorative research. 

Laura Ferguson: 

Ferguson describes her drawings as a "visual autobiography". Stories interact on the page to tell the story of her body's life and its transformation into art. "This is art as inquiry" as quoted by Ferguson. Beautiful and harmonious tones flow throughout her drawings. They are clear, well researched and accurate, yet soft and haunting at the same time. 

Reference: 

https://www.lauraferguson.net/

https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/anat/hd_anat.htm

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/342377

https://www.rebecca-harris.com/portfolio/

https://www.goodman-gallery.com/artists/walter-oltmann#bio