The History of Cast Drawing, and How it Can Help You Draw Form

In the 1540s Jacobi Tintoretto made several studies of Michelangelo’s Giorno from the tomb of Giuliano de’ Medici in San Lorenzo, Florence. In the below drawing, he used black and white chalk to evoke the play of light and shadow. The viewpoint from which the drawing has been made, which is actually the back of the figure, shows that Tintoretto was working from a model, rather than the sculpture in situ. In fact, Tintoretto collected a few models of Michelangelo’s works which he used as drawing aids in his studio.

Study after Michelangelo’s Giorno (recto and verso), ca. 1550–55
Jacopo Tintoretto
Black and white chalk on blue paper, 35 x 50.5 cm | 13-3/4 x 19-7/8 in
Metropolitan Museum of Art

Around a hundred years after Tintoretto’s drawing, Rembrandt made an etching of a man by drawing from a cast. It’s an intimate image, showing a moment between the captivated artist (potentially a self-portrait) and the impassive face of the bust elevated on top of a book. The artist is drawing in the dark with a single candle illuminating the sculpture, throwing some dark shadows under the chin of the cast.

Man Drawing from a Cast, 1636–1646
Rembrandt van Rijn
Etching on ivory laid paper, 9.5 × 6.4 cm | 3 3/4 × 2 9/16 in
Art Institute of Chicago

With the rise of the European and American academies in the 18th century, drawing from statues or plaster casts became central to a traditional art education. The academies looked to classical antiquity as the highest and most noble standard of representation. When it came to life drawing, the rhythmic elegance, harmony, and geometric idealism of classical statuary were thought to encourage good artistic judgement in their students, as well as instil the kind of philosophical and aesthetic ideals associated with the Hellenistic period. As Eugène Guillaume, the director of the Parisian École des Beaux-Arts, summarised it; “the main ingredient of art is taste”.

Plaster Cast Figures & Models

Academies would collect numerous casts of antique sculptures to use as drawing aids. Live models were also used in the life room, but female models were not permitted until the middle of the 19th century. Classical sculptures of nude female bodies were considered less morally hazardous for the students, who were all male at most academies until the very end of the 19th century. The charcoal drawing below by American painter and teacher Thomas Anshutz appears to be of a cast of Venus de’ Medici (1st century BC), currently held at the Uffizi in Florence. You can see the students drawing at her feet.

Cast Study with Students
Thomas Anshutz
Charcoal on white laid paper, 61.9 x 47.3 cm | 24 3/8 x 18 5/8 in
Metropolitan Museum of Art

The academic tradition of cast drawing was rigorous and systematic. Often, students were given a plumb line, and an easel, and were taught the sight-size technique; a method in which the artist draws the subject at exactly the size it appears. They were encouraged to use charcoal or chalk, making it easy to erase and rework a drawing. The tutor’s job was to critique and guide the students, making sure that mistakes were pointed out and corrected. It was a process of training the eye, not only the hand. Students learned to accurately judge distances and angles, mapping the structure of the figure with a series of points and horizontal and vertical lines before beginning to establish an outline. Only then would they start to model the figure with light and shadow.

Torso of the Belvedere, 1837–1911
Alphonse Legros
Metalpoint on white paper, 24.1 x 17.8 cm | 9 1/2 x 7 in
Metropolitan Museum of Art

By the 1920s, the practice of academic cast drawing had largely fallen out of fashion. The reasons behind this are numerous and complex, but among the factors was the impact of the French Impressionists who rejected the academic establishment and marked a general shift from the idealisation of Classical aesthetics and the pursuit of objective representation, towards a more subjective response to the world. In many art academies, the plaster casts that had been used to teach generations of trainee artists were sold, vandalised by students, or left to gather dust.

Why is Cast Drawing Useful?

For all that cast drawing became generally unfashionable in the 20th century, it can be an immensely useful drawing practice and it is still taught in traditional ateliers. Making a master copy of a painting or drawing is one thing, but describing a three-dimensional object on a two-dimensional support requires a different set of skills. It trains the eye to consider the relationships between different parts of the sculpture in space, and challenges you to communicate depth and volume on a flat plane.

That plaster casts are entirely white is also an advantage. Without colour, it’s easier to distinguish the tonal values that communicate depth, volume, and texture. Although, remember that Greek and Roman statues were originally painted! It’s also worth bearing in mind that every cast available at Jackson’s can be painted with acrylic and varnished.

Cast drawing can help improve your proficiency in specific areas. For example, if you struggle with drawing or painting hands, then a model of a hand can be a useful subject for practice. When you have familiarised yourself with the complexities of the cast hand and found a strategy for describing its form, you’ll be better equipped to drawing hands from life.

Additionally, the range at Jackson’s includes two models of the Asaro and Gudon heads, which simplify the form of the head in geometric planes. These can be interesting models with which to explore the effects of light and shadow, as well as the anatomical structure of the human head.

Tips for Drawing from Plaster Casts

Play around with the light source and how it changes the sculpture. When you turn off all overhead lights and illuminate it with one directional light, you can bring out dramatic contrasts which can be interesting to draw from.

Draw with black and white chalk on toned paper, such as those in the Strathmore Mixed Media range, or tone your drawing paper with watercolour or dilute acrylic. When you start from a mid-tone it is easier to negotiate tonal values, which is why you find many Old Master drawings are on blue, pink, brown, or grey paper.

Consider the negative space as much as the interior space. Look at the drawings of Giorgio Morandi for some inspiration!

Casts are interesting pieces in their own right and can be arranged as part of a broader still-life, juxtaposed with other objects, to create a scene with a compelling variety of textures and meanings. For example, Cezanne’s Still Life with Plaster Cupid (1894) places a cast of a 17th-century Baroque statue among scattered apples and onions.

Further Reading

A Guide to Drawing in Galleries and Museums

Inside the Sketchbook of Louise Reynolds

Introduction to Mezzotint Printmaking

How to Resolve a Landscape Painting Composition

Shop Plaster Casts on jacksonsart.com