Various mechanical contrivances have been used, to assist beginners in drawing the human figure: such as heads, hands, &c. and even the whole body and limbs, so connected by joints as to be placed in all possible situations and attitudes. These contrivances however, are all liable to disadvantages which must greatly diminish their value. In the first place, the young artist is in danger of imitating a very faulty model; and in placing his figure in certain attitudes, all of which are equally practicable for the machine; he is exposed to the hazard of copying as natural a position, and even a distortion, in which no human being can without convulsive violence be beheld. An artist unacquainted with the form and situation of the several members of the body, of the bones which support them, and of the muscles by which these bones are moved and governed, will never arrive at the great object of his art, which is to convey to the spectator a complete and correct idea and expression of the passions and sentiments of the persons he represents. Expression is the language of nature; and without a knowledge of the form and action of the several parts of the human frame, which serve as the organs to express that language, we shall never be able, either to understand it ourselves, or to interpret it to others. In recommending the study of anatomy however, that is, of the shape, structure, position, and uses of the several parts of the human body, it is not intended to intimate that he should make profound researches and experiments, such as are necessary to qualify the surgeon for the duties of his important profession. It will be sufficient for the artist to examine the skeleton, and the muscles with which it is covered; and of these last, those particular muscles which most frequently appear in the various ordinary actions and motions of the body. For this purpose not only books and plates, but models in plaster may be easily procured and when the pupil has made considerable progress, he may then be in a condition to reap advantage from lectures and discussions on the structure of the real human body. It is nevertheless from frequent and sagacious observation of the appearances of the bones, muscles, and features of mankind, when employed in different bodily exercises, or under the influence of the different passions of the mind, that the artist can, with the greatest certainty and precision, collect the most ample stores of information. Symmetry or proportion may be best learned from casts or copies of the most valuable remains of antient sculpture. Nature which in the formation of every kind of being, seems to have aimed at perfection, does not appear to have been equally solicitous in the production of individuals. Parts of individuals are frequently seen as beautiful as possible: but a perfect whole has never yet been found. In the master-pieces of antient statuary therefore, we are presented with the productions of admirable practical skill, inspired by the most sublime genius, and governed by the most exquisite taste. In drawing from models cast in plaster of Paris,* great care is necessary to place the figure in a proper position with regard to the light which should always fall down obliquely from above, as the light of the sun does in the day-time. By this measure the same parts will be enlightened or darkened as would happen, were a human figure contemplated in the open air. In this kind of drawing however, as the light is suffered to come down from one point only, the contrast between the light and the dark parts is much more distinctly marked, than in objects exposed to the open day, where although the principal light proceeds immediately from the sun, yet so much light is reflected from all the surrounding atmosphere, that the distinction between the light and shade is not very perceptible. When the model is placed in the most favourable attitude and light, the next important step is to choose that point from which it may be viewed with the best advantage, relatively to the subject of the drawing. When he has, with laborious perseverance, acquired a facility and command of hand, in drawing the human figure, in every possible attitude and situation, the young draughtsman has still a great deal to do before he can have any just claim to the respectable title of artist. Hitherto his employment has been merely mechanical: but the higher parts of his art, which depend on the manner in which his mind is constituted and furnished, are all still to be acquired. Light and shude. The management and distribution of the light, so as that those parts of an object which, in any given situation, are exposed to it, may be so represented, while the other parts are darkened, are in many cases merely mechanical operations. If the ́sun shine obliquely on the corner of a house, we know that one side and an end will be enlightened, while the other side and end will be in the dark; and there is an almost instantaneous transition from the enlightened part of the ground to the darkness of the shadow. Even in representing the light and dark parts, and the shadows of objects of irregular and complicated forms, geometrical rules exist, by which the artist may be guided in his representations. Of these rules and their application to drawings of different • Plaster of Paris is so called because it is in great use in that city, being dug up in great quantities in a hill called Montmartre, which hangs immediately over its northern side. This substance is called Gypsum, Subenile, or Alabaster and it is a combination of lime with vitriolic acid, or oil of vitriol. When this substance is exposed to heat, it falls down into a very white powder, which when mixed with water unites with it very rapidly, and in a short time becomes quite solid. From this property it is used for taking copies of figures, by casting in a nould while liquid: and the figures thus produced are for this reason called caste - * - . sorts, excellent illustrations will be found in various works, particularly in Nicholson's Principles of Architecture. When the terms light and shade, however, are applied to drawing and paint-, ing, something more is understood, in which these geometrical and mechanical rules must be combined with solid judgment and refined taste. Directions in this part of drawing must therefore be of a very general and comprehensive nature. When the pupil is in some measure master of tracing the outline or shape of an object, he will begin to complete the work, by distributing the lights, by what is called shading. In drawing upon paper the natural colour of the substance is sufficiently white and bright to represent the strongest light that can fall upon it: but this brightness may be still greatly augmented by contrasting it with black colouring, more or less deep, in proportion as the parts are more or less remote from the light, whether direct or reflected. In the first place the artist considers from what point, and in what direction the rays of light fall upon the object to be drawn: for from that point as a centre, all the light must appear to the spectator to proceed. That part on which the light falls most directly must be the brightest in the drawing, and that diametrically opposite must appear the darkest; the intermediate parts gradually diminishing in brightness, as they retire from the direct light. This is particularly observable in regular round surfaces, such as a thick column, a round tower, &c. when exposed to the sun's rays. A ray of light proceeding from the sun, or any other luminous body, and just touching the side of a column, or other solid substance, ought to proceed forward in the same direction. This however, we know not to be the case: for the particles of light being attracted by the matter of the column, the ray will be bent inwards towards the column, by which a quantity of light will be thrown in upon parts wholly hidden from the body of the sun. The consequence of this is, that the passage from light to dark is much more gradual, and much less sudden than, in other circumstances, would happen. This gradual diminution of brightness requires therefore a sensible space on the picture, proportioned to the diameter of the circular surface on which it is represented; and it is chiefly by the judicious and correct proportioning of gradations of colour, that the spectator is enabled to comprehend the nature and form of the substance presented to his view. This however is not all: in drawing and painting we are not to consider only the state of objects as they really are, with respect to the light, but as they affect our eye. When I converse with a friend in the open air, all parts of his body being equally distant from the sun, they must, when turned towards him, be all equally illuminated. To me however, they do not appear to be so: his head seems to receive a greater portion of . light than his shoulders and arms, and these still more than his legs, while his feet, as the most remote from my eye, appear the darkest of all. From these observations the artist learns in what proportions to bestow his darkening shades; and in this process, critical experience and observation must be his only guides. It is also with a reference to the nature of our sight that objects at a |