What’s the class about?

In the early days of the RA Schools, students started their training by drawing plaster casts of Classical and Renaissance sculptures, along with écorchés (casts of bodies from which the skin has been removed to reveal the musculature). Once they had demonstrated their skill in these areas, they were permitted to draw life models.

Celebrating the the 250th anniversary of the RA Schools and inspired by our displays The Anatomy Professor and Learning to Draw, as well as our exhibition The Renaissance Nude, this special online class was broadcast from the Royal Academy’s historic Life Room. We take a close-up look at casts from our Collection that RA Schools students such as William Blake and JMW Turner drew from, getting some insights into what lies beneath the skin, before drawing from life models in the room.

The class is hosted by our Artistic Director Tim Marlow and the artist, writer and broadcaster Dr Sarah Simblet, a specialist tutor of anatomy who regularly teaches in our courses and classes programme. We hear from experts on how artists such as Leonardo da Vinci honed their drawing skills through studying the human body – and, as an extra feature, we also take a look at the art of equine anatomy… with a special four-legged guest.

What happens in the class

The full session is 90 minutes long – but you can of course stop and start, or join in for as much or as little of it as you want to. Sarah Simblet will introduce the class and instruct you throughout: we start with some quick poses for you to draw to warm up, then try some longer poses so you have more time to fine-tune your drawings. Please note: due to social media community standards, this event did not feature full nudity.

What you need

Some paper and a pen or pencil is all you really need to take part – if all you’ve got is a napkin and a biro, that’s just fine – although you could also work with pastels, charcoal or any other materials you want to try. We recommend you watch on a desktop and go full-screen if you can, to get the best possible view of our models.