MONUMENTAL DRAWING
Monumental Drawing develops the ability to resolve a drawing at a scale where structural and compositional weaknesses become impossible to hide. The current practical focus is the human figure drawn at or near life size, requiring close attention to anatomy, plastic structure, tone and the relationship between volume and the picture plane.
Programme
Most of the course is built around the human figure at or near life size, where anatomical understanding and large-scale construction have to operate together. Students study the structural and plastic characteristics of the body, using anatomy and proportion to establish the figure as a coherent three-dimensional form. The point is not simply to enlarge a smaller academic drawing, but to understand how the body must be rebuilt when the scale of the image changes.
Large format introduces a second problem: the figure has to be organised within the whole field of the picture. Students work with composition, tonal relationships and the connection between three-dimensional volume and the flat picture plane. Because local details can easily disrupt the whole at this scale, students develop the practical ability to move constantly and deliberately between close observation and judgement of the image as a complete visual structure.
The later assignments bring anatomy, scale, tone and composition into one sustained drawing process. Students refine the figure without losing its underlying construction and develop a more expressive image while maintaining structural accuracy. Continuous correction is essential: relationships are tested across the entire surface so that the final drawing reads simultaneously as a convincing body, a controlled composition and a resolved large-scale image.
What You Will Learn
- study the anatomical and plastic structure of the human body
- work with the figure at a large scale
- develop an expressive image while maintaining structural accuracy
- organise composition and tone across a large surface
- understand the relationship between three-dimensional volume and the picture plane
How You Learn
Work is developed through sustained large-format studies. Students analyse the body, establish the construction of the figure, then refine tonal and compositional relationships without losing the underlying structure. The scale of the work makes continuous correction and whole-image judgement an essential part of the process.
Outcome
The ability to work confidently with the human figure at a large scale and to coordinate anatomy, composition, tone and spatial structure within one resolved drawing.