Drawing the Human Head Series: Lesson 15 — STUDY OF THE POSE & COMPOSITION
STUDY OF THE POSE
If you are drawing only a bust portrait, the model should be seated. If the portrait extends down to the waist, the model may be seated or standing, although custom generally favors a seated pose. In all cases, the model’s head should be at the same height as yours. Remember this important rule:
The model’s eyes must be at the same level as your own.
THE MODEL MUST BE COMFORTABLE AND FEEL AT EASE
Indeed, you should, for example, ask the model to sit down and do so naturally, making sure he is completely comfortable, so that he is able to remain seated, without moving, for as long as necessary, without showing signs of fatigue.
Above all, avoid the stiff, awkward, frozen pose of people who feel they are “posing.” In such cases, you must distract the model and chat with him until, instinctively and almost without realizing it, he adopts a more relaxed and natural attitude.
NATURALNESS IN CLOTHING, HAIRSTYLE, ETC.
“It is terrible,” Francesc Serra used to tell me, “to make the portrait of a young man wearing a suit, with the collar of his shirt perfectly pressed, proudly displaying a new tie.”
The stiffer and more heavily pressed the clothes and draperies are, the less they lend themselves to artistic interpretation. For example, a woman’s garment fresh from the store does not have the suppleness of a garment that has already been worn; it has not yet acquired those folds and slight creases naturally adapted to the shape of the body. In a new suit, the jacket is like a piece of armor made of cardboard; it has no flexibility, no movement; it is cold and lifeless, as though it were dressing a shop-window mannequin.
Avoid new clothes whenever possible, overly tailored fabrics, and anything that appears unnatural. For example, choose a young boy wearing a knitted sweater, or a young girl wearing a shirt that has already been worn.
Never draw a man, woman, or child who has just “come from the hairdresser.” This habit some mothers have of preparing their child—putting on a new suit, dressing him up, combing his hair with a perfect parting—because he is “going to the painter” harms the artistic quality of the portrait.
“Leave him as he is,” Serra would say to such a mother, “just as he comes home from school; with that lock of hair falling across his forehead, his everyday sweater and trousers; just as he really is.”
“SHOW THE TRUTH, BUT IMPROVE IT”
Of course, if there is a stain on the child’s sweater, do not include it; if the sweater has many folds, eliminate some and keep only the most pleasing and harmonious ones. If the model is a young woman and her hairstyle is very high, but a lower hairstyle would look better, modify it. If the model is heavyset, make him appear slightly slimmer; if he is a man with a large stomach, reduce it.
Respect the truth, but do not hesitate to modify it slightly in order to beautify it. Sometimes it is enough to reduce the waistline by half a centimeter or one centimeter so that it appears more graceful, while the model still remains perfectly recognizable.
SEARCHING FOR THE MODEL’S POSE
There sits the model before you, waiting for your instructions on which pose to adopt. Certainly, the easiest solution would be to ask nothing of him and draw him exactly as he is, assuming that this “as he is” corresponds to his habitual attitude.
However, the artist must intervene—not to fundamentally alter the model’s natural pose, but to make the best possible use of it. Let us see what can be done.
Begin by checking the position of the head in relation to the body, remembering Ingres’ advice:
“The body must not follow the movement of the head.”
You should study the pose so that the model’s head looks in a different direction from that in which the body is facing. In this way, you obtain a more graceful attitude, less stiff and less rigid.
Consider these examples: in the illustration opposite, the model’s body and head face directly forward, almost like someone standing at attention. As you can see, it is a monotonous pose, without movement. According to Ingres’ advice, this is exactly what you should avoid. In the next illustration, the model faces forward only with his head, because his body is turned slightly to one side. Does it not seem better this way?
It must nevertheless be said that many artists have, on numerous occasions, painted portraits of models in this completely frontal position, as though they deliberately wished to explore this rigid attitude. Examples of such poses are especially common in modern painting. A large number of the portraits painted by Modigliani, for example, display this pose, which one might describe as somewhat unacademic, chosen intentionally.
Therefore, our advice remains unchanged: for now, follow Ingres’ recommendation and give the head a movement different from that of the body.
IF NECESSARY, GIVE THE MODEL SOMETHING TO DO WITH HIS HANDS
Some people do not need any explanation or instruction when posing for a portrait: they naturally place their hands with grace and ease. Others, however, do not know what to do with them.
Therefore, besides talking with the model and maintaining a conversation that distracts and reassures him, remember that in difficult cases you may give the model something to occupy his hands. For example: a book, a cigarette for an adult, a doll for a little girl, etc.
But remember that this is only a remedy to be used in specific cases, not a general rule.
AVOID FORESHORTENING AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE
If the model is seated facing forward, you will see his thighs in foreshortening. If he sits sideways, with the chair turned halfway and the backrest appearing under his arm, he may rest that arm upon it, which also produces a foreshortening…
Although it is not an absolute rule, try to avoid foreshortenings, which are generally difficult to resolve and often unpleasant to look at.
FOR A BUST PORTRAIT, PLACE YOURSELF TWO METERS FROM THE MODEL
Indeed, between your chair and the chair occupied by the model, when drawing a portrait down to the waist, there should be a distance of approximately two meters. If it is only a head portrait, this distance may be reduced to about one and a half meters. If it is a full-length portrait, the distance should be greater—between three and four meters.
BEGIN THE DRAWN “INTERROGATION”
Keeping in mind all the previous considerations, try to find the position that will produce the best artistic result. Search for it by moving around, slightly changing your viewing angle so that you see the model more or less from the front; also make changes in the position adopted by the model.
Make at least five sketches—preferably more rather than fewer—even if you think the first one is successful, because it is always possible to improve this initial study.
Draw these sketches on a small scale, using a sketchbook or loose sheets of ordinary paper approximately the size of a notebook. Professionals spend no more than six or eight minutes on each sketch.
If we add the time needed to change poses, move your position, converse with the model, and so on, we can estimate a total of one hour to one and a half hours devoted exclusively to this preliminary portrait study.
This implies applying the following professional rule:
The first session should be devoted exclusively to studying the pose (lighting, likeness, etc.), this study being carried out through a series of preliminary sketches.
In other words, the final drawing does not begin until the second session.
