"Anatomy of the Torso" Workshop with Robert Liberace

Last week I took a three day workshop on the "Anatomy of the Torso" with Instructor Robert Liberace. This artistic anatomy course, held at the Art League in Alexandria, Virginia, seamlessly integrated musculoskeletal anatomy with drawing from the life model. Liberace started with a review of the importance of bony landmarks in figure drawing. He also established areas of origin and insertions for the first group of muscles we would review. The muscles were located on the model and we encouraged to draw the model with the muscles ghosted in.

Each day of the workshop involved a review of a new group of muscles, functional anatomy and the opportunity to do a sustained study from the life model. The poses the model took were dynamic and highlighted the musculature.



Demo drawing by Robert Liberace showing bony landmarks on torso.



Demo drawing by Robert Liberace showing location of clavicle, sternum, costal cartilages and ribs.



Demo drawing by Robert Liberace showing some superficial muscles of the torso including infraspinatus, teres major, external oblique and rectus abdominus.



One of my charcoal drawings highlighting muscles of the torso.



Another one of my charcoal studies highlighting muscles of the back.