Light Reveals
the Form (continued)
In this copy after Peter Paul Rubens, we can see what a
major role the spine plays in the body. Every gesture or
action our bodies make will be revealed by the placement of
the spine. When you draw the figure, be acutely aware of
the position of the spine. This will ensure that you draw the
gesture or movement and weight of the figure correctly.
Ruben’s technical skills and knowledge of anatomy allowed
him to create a wonderful sense of the mass of a back in
this drawing. The light falls directly onto the back. Rubens
has rounded the upper area of the back, especially the right
side, by concentrating his lightest tones in this area. Squint
at the drawing and you will observe the roundness in this
area. Due to the back being fully lit, Rubens has to describe
the anatomy of the back with fairly light tones in his shad-
ing. You will notice how he uses mostly soft gray tones. He
hardly uses any dark tones, except for the left side of the
back. On the left side he is showing the slight bend and
twist at the waist. Note the dark contour line used to
emphasize the twisting motion. He also darkly shades the
Obliquus externusand Aponeurosis of latissimus dorsi mus-
cles, to reveal the pressure put on these muscle groups due
to the weight of the body being carried by the left leg; notice
how they bulge. Look how Rubens has suggested the side
plane of the body on the right side. To do this, he has
emphasized the rib cage with dark accents and used darker
shading in the area to the right of the rib cage to denote a
different plane. The contour of this side plane is drawn with
a very dark line. This has the effect of pushing and rounding
that plane, away from the viewer and into the distance. This
dark plane is moving away and is strongly contrasted from
the brightly lit plane of the back.
Copy after Peter Paul Rubens’ Study of Male Figure,
Seen from Behind,by Dean Fisher