Gallery Wall of Sketches
Figure drawing classes consist of live models holding a pose so that students can learn how to properly depict human anatomy. Figure drawing from a live model was first popularized during the Renaissance and entered academic institutions in the 17th century. Although long dominated by the male nude, seen as the paradigm of human beauty since Classical Greece, by the early nineteenth century life drawing increasingly used the unclothed female figure. This voyeuristic method was often used to espouse ideal body types of its subjects and reinforce beauty standards. Culturally ideal body types can often be seen through this voyeuristic learning style, as the subject of live figure drawing has often historically been aligned with cultural beauty standards.