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DRAWING: THE OBJE(A)CT – The Act of Drawing as Deep Observation

by Joachim De Block

“Every line I draw reforms the figure on the paper, and at the same time redraws the image in my mind. It is the act of drawing itself that forces the artist to look at the object in front of him, to dissect it in the mind’s eye and to reassemble it; or, when drawing from memory, it forces him to dredge his own mind and discover the content of his store of past observations.” [1] (John Berger, 2007)

Introduction

What is the role and added value of drawing as a tool for knowledge acquisition in support of anatomy classes? At the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, anatomical drawing is used not only to develop a better understanding of the role of the skeleton as an underlying structure in figure drawing, and to comprehend the morphological structure of the human body, but also as an alternative and practical method of note-taking for recording anatomical knowledge.

This approach is based on the assumption that drawing is a dynamic process, in which a continuous interaction takes place between the inner and outer reality of the draughtsman. In his book The Thinking Hand – Existential and Embodied Wisdom in Architecture, Juhani Pallasmaa describes observational drawing as a form of deep observation in which three different images develop simultaneously during the act of drawing: the physical image on paper, the mental image stored in the cerebral memory, and a bodily or internal image based on muscle memory. [2]

For this reason, we distinguish between ‘the act of drawing’, which we consider an internal process of knowledge acquisition, and ‘the drawing as a study object’, a personalized visualization of the course material. We thereby assume that a drawing always contains an aspect of the maker’s inner world. [3]

Drawing is Shaping: Embodied Thinking – Embodied Wisdom

“All three images are not mere momentary snapshots (…) they are recordings of a temporal process of successive perception, measuring, correction and re-evaluation.” (Pallasmaa, 2009) [4]

Through the act of drawing, students continuously question what they see. During the observational study of the human skeleton, students are encouraged to investigate the physical structure of the bones in a formal and analytical way, with the aim of achieving a representation that is as true to nature as possible. The act of drawing makes students aware of the specific physical characteristics of the skeleton, as they constantly adjust their work through estimation, re-evaluation, and correction of the drawn image.

“A drawing does not reproduce the tree as it manifests itself in objective reality: the drawing records the way the tree is seen or experienced.” (John Berger, 2007)

The act of drawing stimulates a deep engagement with unconscious thinking through the process of making. Repetition or redrawing (reconstruction) of the image, as a form of formal investigation to approach a more accurate representation of reality, contributes to the internalization of what is observed. This provides clear added value for the memorization and representation of anatomical knowledge of the human skeleton.

Etymology, rooted in Greek and Roman antiquity and forming the basis of anatomical terminology, often refers to the physical characteristics and formal associations of bones. Research has shown that a solid understanding of etymology leads to a better comprehension of anatomy (Smith et al., 2007). [5]

The hand operates in close collaboration with the mental space of the draughtsman. Every line drawn in relation to the image on paper is simultaneously redrawn in the brain as a mental representation. The act of drawing thus offers, in an educational context, the possibility to internalize anatomical knowledge both at a cerebral and a muscular level (muscle memory). [6]

The Task of Art Practice: The Drawing as an Object of Knowledge

Within anatomy classes, students are assigned to produce a life-sized drawing study of the human skeleton, developed as a study object. In other words, students enrich the drawing with their own annotations as well as a schematic representation of the course of the muscles on the skeleton. This results in a clear understanding of the origin and insertion of muscles.

The life-sized format of the drawing enables students to perceive anatomical knowledge in a holistic way. This invites what is known as ‘radiant thinking’ or whole-brain thinking, in which both the left and right hemispheres are engaged in the acquisition and processing of knowledge. The schematic representation of muscles on a dissected skeleton allows students, when observing their drawing, to develop a visual understanding of the course of muscles and their position within the overall musculature of the human body.

Subsequently, students are asked to produce a life-sized drawing study of the écorché figure by Jean-Antoine Houdon. In this assignment, one half of the figure is drawn based on direct observation of the plaster model, while the other half represents the skeleton that underlies the muscular structure of the figure.

The objective of this assignment is twofold: on the one hand, to acquire artistic and technical insight into the architecture of the human skeleton and its role as an underlying structure; on the other hand, to develop an understanding of the morphological structure of muscles as overlapping volumes.

Conclusion

Within anatomical drawing education, drawing can be considered an essential tool for knowledge acquisition. It functions not merely as a means of representation, but as an active process of observation, analysis, and internalization. Through drawing, students are encouraged to look more attentively and to transform their perception into a deeper understanding of the human body.

The interaction between hand, eye, and brain allows knowledge not only to be recorded, but also to be embedded, both mentally and physically. At the same time, the drawing as a study object becomes a carrier of this knowledge, in which observation and personal interpretation converge.

Anatomical drawing thus affirms its value as a pedagogical instrument that supports both artistic insight and cognitive development, demonstrating that drawing is, in essence, a form of thinking.

[1] Quote from John Berger in the book The Thinking Hand: Existential and Embodied Wisdom in Architecture by Juhani Pallasmaa, pp. 91–92.

[2] Adapted from Juhani Pallasmaa, The Thinking Hand: Existential and Embodied Wisdom in Architecture, United Kingdom, John Wiley & Sons Ltd., 2009, p. 90.

[3] Adapted from Juhani Pallasmaa, The Thinking Hand: Existential and Embodied Wisdom in Architecture, United Kingdom, John Wiley & Sons Ltd., 2009, p. 90.

[4] Quote from Juhani Pallasmaa, The Thinking Hand: Existential and Embodied Wisdom in Architecture, United Kingdom, John Wiley & Sons Ltd., 2009, p. 90.

[5] Adapted from Stephen B. Smith, Stephen W. Carmichael, Wojciech Pawlina & Robert J. Spinner, Latin and Greek in Gross Anatomy, 20(3), 2007, pp. 332–337.

[6] Adapted from John Berger & Juhani Pallasmaa, The Thinking Hand: Existential and Embodied Wisdom in Architecture, John Wiley & Sons Ltd., 2009, pp. 89–92.