Anatomy for Artists

Anyone who thinks the R. Marsh is "sloppy" does not know or understand the artist. If you ever stood in front a Marsh 24x30 ink life drawing sheet you might change your mind. His drawings are done from life, in ink, as a direct interpretation and have never been surpassed by any other modern day artist. Anyone who works with the figure in their art work would give anything to understand the model half as good as Marsh did. His anatomy book was done from standing in front of master drawings, in front of sculptures, gallery paintings and memory. They were not done at one time for this book, but over a lifetime of study and then assembled. They are not tracings, or accurate medical anatomy references nor are they meant to be. They were used to help him with the figures in his paintings. Copying art work has been a traditional way to learn from a Master that is not around anymore to teach. To make an exact copy of any art is to miss the point of the lesson. It should be interpreted by you and your hand, hence the word "study". Anyone who thinks this is book is not up to par needs to go back and look at the hundreds of ringed sketchbooks, tempera paintings, and frescos of a man who made a living drawing and painting his whole life. You might even want to pick up one (1) of his life drawing sheets for about $25,000 if you are lucky enough to find one for sale.

This book reflects the discerning eye and historical knowledge of this very remarkable artist. It is a resource for anyone who is interested in drawing the body. Reginald Marsh died more than 50 years ago. But his remarkable NY Custom House frescoes, complicated paintings and fine drawings live on to influence the rest of us. I have the original book and have given the Dover copy to many people.

This book is designed to be only a guide for artists in the drawing of human anatomy. It is useful to illustrators, particularly in the fields of commercial illustration and animation. My wife and I have numerous friends within these fields who have found this work indispensable.Having taken and witnessed several dozen art courses at local universities within Virginia (my wife holds a BFA), I would comment on the teaching of art. Many art teachers want their students to imitate their own preferred styles, rather than to let the student express themselves. They will give poor grades to those who defy them -- my mother, my wife, and several of our friends have experienced this firsthand. This is not teaching, it is academic stifling and snobbery.Artists should not imitate Marsh's style, or anyone else's, including their teachers. It is a poor teacher who does not understand this. If students have had problems with this book, it is probably due to the teacher's lack of ability to teach the subject properly.

this book is wonderful. I cannot understand anyone giving this masterpiece a bad rating, unless they are not an artist.