Studying Anatomy from Historical Drawings: The Legs (Patreon)

The legs are one of the most neglected parts of the body given the importance of their role in the figure. First of, they are the largest body 'section' after the torso, with significant visual importance. They also support the body, which is an important part of the gesture of a pose. Here we are going to look at the gesture of the leg's structure and in poses, as well as the anatomy, and how that relates to a more dimensional form.

Main image: Peter Paul Rubens 'An Écorché Study of the Legs of a Male Nude'

Gesture of the Legs

The legs, like the arms, are asymmetric and full of rhythm. This helps balance the weight of the body.

Parmigianino – 'Woman and Horse'

In the Parmigiano drawing, we can see how the structure of the leg creates an innate visual rhythm. Muscle curves occur in alternating sequence, rather than being opposite each other. There is also contrast between the longer, flatter curves of the outer leg versus the shorter, tighter curves of the inner leg.

François Boucher - 'Male Nude'

A similar story is told from the side, as we sweep back and forth across the leg. Boucher's drawing has complex detail and volumes, but still looks dynamic because of the respect paid to the rhythm, and continuity of the anatomy. This can been seen particularly if you carefully study how the external muscle contours lead back into the bulk of the leg.

Luca Cambiaso - 'Diana'

The action line of the body (show in red) is a simple gestural line that approximates the whole pose, running right through the legs to the feet. It need not run straight through a leg, though here I've put consideration into which side the figure is leaning more weight into. By picking a dominant leg that bears more weight than the other, these artists inject a bit more interest and asymmetry into these poses.

Heinrich Kley

Bones of the Leg

There are four bones in the leg to look for. Knowing how these fit together is particularly helpful in drawing the joints - the hip, knee and ankle – as this is where they are most visible.

Raphael – 'Innocents Study'

1.  Femur

2.  Patella

3.  Tibia

4.  Fibula

Because muscle and fat covers the femur, we only see indications of it around the joints. There is a slight bump on the left hip of the left figure created by the top of the femur (the greater trochanter) – this may create a dimple when the flesh is not stretched away from it. We can see the other end in the knee; there is not much fat or muscle here to cover it.

The patella creates a round bump at the end of the thigh – don't confuse it with the second lump underneath though! This is part of the tibia (tibal tuberosity), is seen clearly on the left leg of the right hand figure, and is a useful marker for the front of the tibia. From this bump we can travel down its entire front edge to the ankle.

The last bone of the leg is the fibula, which sits on the outer side of the lower leg. It can be tricky to spot the upper part, save a tiny shadow line in the side of the leg here. However, the base of this bone creates the outer side of the ankle. It is important to pay attention to the angle between the two bumps of the ankle; the outer, fibula, side sits lower than the inner tibia side.

Muscles of the Leg

The muscles of the leg are layered, but most of what we see stems from the groups shown at here. These groups are made up of multiple smaller muscles that generally work together for big actions. Individual muscles do more precise jobs.

Left: Michelangelo - 'Study of Haman'  Right: Parmigianino- 'Model of David Statue Florence'

1.  Quadraceps Group

2.  Hamstring Group

3.  Glutes

4.  Calf Group

5.  Lower Leg Extensors

The muscles of the upper leg are big! The entire quadriceps group is the largest by volume, followed by the gluteus maxiumus (the main glute muscle). Note how round these are, they are not flat. These muscles help hold the body up and move it around.

The shadow details in the upper leg shows how the quadraceps group divides into three (there is a fourth hidden muscle underneath bulking them out!) and attaches to the patella in a single tendon, which carries on to the front of the tibia. These muscles are not symmetrical – look just above the knee, there is an inward slope to them.

The lower half of the leg is dominated by the bulk of the calf muscles, which also curve in such a way as to angle inwards, and can be seen tucked behind from the front. The small group of muscles that make up the lower leg extensors sweep along the outside of the tibia, rounding out the leg. 

The hamstring group on the back of the thigh splits into two around the back of the knee. This creates an interlocking structure with the lower leg, as the calf muscles fit between them. Here, and in many cases you encounter, individual muscles don't show – the key thing to remember is how they wrap the knee to pass to the front of the leg.

Luca Cambiaso – 'Venus and Cupid'

Look out for these volumes, and how artists describe them with overlapping lines; it will really help you with drawing the knee. 

Over to You: Leg Studies from Historical Drawings

Start by studying gesture before looking at the complexities of the muscle groups. Get a good feel for the 'whole' first. It is also a good idea to look at what the volumes and cross sections are doing, like we did with the arms. The legs are quite bulky, and have interesting forms.

The clear anatomical indications made in the original drawings by Cesari and Tintoretto allowed me to reverse-engineer the muscles.

Once start to look at the muscles, keep in mind the grouping above. By doing so, it helps maintain the idea of continuity of the muscle down through the leg. These are fairly long muscles, and will help add a more fluid feel to your drawing you are mindful of how they work together under the skin.

Jan Saenredam- 'Andromeda'

 Albrecht Dürer - 'Female Nude Praying'

Hendrick Goltzius- 'Farnese Hercules'

Théodore Géricault – 'Man Lifting a Beam' This one is a deceptively simple drawing, but look carefully – there is a surprising amount of anatomy hiding here.

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This is the third  blog post in Lancelot's 'Studying anatomy from historical drawings' series, commissioned using money raised here on the Draw Patreon. 

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