Studying Anatomy from Historical Drawings: Feet (Patreon)

The feet often getting trimmed off or placed in as an afterthought - they are full of subtle complexity and are key to supporting the figure. The structure and anatomy of the foot mirrors that of the hand, but is adapted in different ways. Where the hand is agile and able to perform complex tasks, the foot provides a stable foundation to the body with specific features to help support its weight.

Main image: Agostino Carracci - 'Study of Two Feet, view of the sole'

Rhythm and Continuity

Like other parts of the body, the foot has its own distinct rhythm, despite looking quite stiff. There is less movement, but the structure of the foot itself has a natural sense of continuity from the leg.

Lucas Cranach the Elder – 'Thief on the Cross, Facing Left'

This dynamic sketch by Lucas Cranach show the rhythm of the leg passing into the foot through the ankle. This redirects the visual rhythm to the inside of the foot. On the back leg, the foot tilts away from the viewer and we see the sweep of the leg directed over the top of the foot. 

Raphael – 'Naked Figure Fleeing with an Axe'

In Raphael's drawing, we see a similar continuity of rhythm from legs to feet. The asymmetry of the ankle is also seen here; there is an angle between the inner and outer side. The outer side sits lower than the inner side.

Daniel Huntington – 'Drawing Left Foot From a Plaster'

This cast drawing shows the steadily changing curvatures through the foot's structure. The inner edge of the foot gently curves down to the big toe, whist the top of the foot curves across to the outside. There is a change in how steep this curvature is, starting with a tight arch at the ankle to nearly flat at the toes. The toes themselves create an arc, not dissimilar to the fingers.

Skeleton and Structure

Whilst the foot has few muscles, and is mostly comprised of skeleton with padding, it has a thicker volume than the hand. Often, it is good to first think of how it can be reduced to a simple structure that is easy to draw at different angles.

Abraham Bloemaert –  'Study of Legs, Feet, and a Young Man Leaning' Drawing the foot at many different angles is excellent practise for dealing with it's structure.'

Here I've indicated some possible ways to simplify the foot. The ankle sits on top, clasping the heel. The foot can be segmented into two or three sections; the heel and central arch, and the toes. It is useful to separate the toes as they can bend back and forth. 

Bloemaert's drawings of the foot from behind show the heel and achilles tendon that runs up to the leg overlap the rest of the foot. It can be helpful to think of this as a 'back' surface to the foot when drawing this tricky angle.

Adolph Menzel - 'Right Leg with Rolled Up Trousers'

1. Phalanges

a. Distal,  b. Middle,  c. Proximal

2. Metatarsals

3. Tarsals

4. Talus

5. Heel Bone (Calcaneus)

This top view of the foot shows it clearly, though I have omitted the bones of the lower leg that comprise the ankle. The phalanges and metatarsals are similar to the hand, with even the big toe missing a middle phalange like the thumb.

The joint of the big toe with its metatarsal is a useful landmark to help us find the arc of the knuckles of the toes, with the joint of the little toe often being visible as a bump as well. Another landmark is a small bump created by the fifth metatarsal in the middle of the side of the foot; it is a useful point where the transition to the ankle begins.

Many of the bones of the tarsal section are concealed, but the heel bone (calcaneus) is usually visible as a small bump at the very back of the foot, barely visible here. You might notice a bump on the top of the foot at the boundary of the tarsal and metaltarsal bones as well.

Surface Features

The sole of the foot is heavily padded to protect the sensitive bones, especially under the heel. 

Albrecht Dürer – 'Feet of an Apostle'

Here Dürer has indicated the rounded forms of the sole of the foot with his hatching. Creases in the skin, formed by compression, push this further. Fat pads cushion the bones on the heel, under the outer edge of the foot, and under the joint of the big toe. Skeletal landmarks aren't visible on the sole for this reason, leaving the forms rounded.

Unknown Artist – 'Study of a Right Foot, Obliquely from the Front'

1. Extensor Digitorum Brevis

2. Abductor Digiti Minimi

The upper side of the foot has a surprising amount of subtle detail. Here I have marked a couple of the muscles of the foot. The extensor muscle creates a bulge on the upper side of the foot, which tucks up against the ankle as we see here. The abductor muscle rounds out the bottom outer edge as well, with the bump for the fifth metatarsal sitting in the middle of it.

Finally, the toes each have their own characteristic shape. Like the fingers, they also have a tendency to point in towards an invisible centreline. At this view, we can see the forms of the toenails; they are not flat, but curve around the toe, a small detail towards creating a more convincing whole.

Over to You: Foot Studies from Historical Drawings

Studying the foot at lots of different angles, and in different poses, alongside breaking down its simple structure, will help a lot with drawing feet in a life drawing setting. The landmarks and surface features of the foot are subtle enough that they can be hard to discern from a life model, specially if you are quite far away, or working from a low resolution reference, so starting with artists' drawings is especially helpful.

These studies look at three dimensional structure

Try to copy the foot from both isolated studies, and full figures. Drawing from a full figure will help tremendously with understanding how the foot fits in with the gesture as a whole.

Michaelangelo - 'Study of a Left Leg'

 Petro Jacopo Palmieri – 'The Shepherd's Rest'

Giovanni Battista Piazzetta – 'Five Studies of Feet'

Stefano della Bella - 'Five feet, from 'The Book for Learning to Draw''

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

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