ArtLex
Art Lex: Figure in Art
Contains a very brief description of figure, including some good examples of the human figure being used in art.
ArtsNow
Arts Now Learning: Mona Mesa: What Is Your Opinion? [Pdf]
In this lesson, 1st graders look at a print of "Mona Lisa" by Leonardo DaVinci and talk about what they see, searching for visual clues to help them form an opinion. They discuss the importance of portrait paintings during the...
PBS
Pbs: How Art Made the World: Human Body in Egypitan Art
PBS documentary considers how ancient Egyptian artists chose to represent the human body and answers questions about how the cultural values of a society, such as the desire for order, shape its art. With close-ups of Egyptian art that...
ArtsNow
Arts Now Learning: Self Portraits With the Touch of a Finger [Pdf]
In this lesson, students will explore self-portraiture by looking at classical portrait paintings, such as Diego Velazquez's La Infanta Margarita or Raphael's Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione. A close look at these works reveals...
Marilyn J. Brackney
Imagination Factory: Draw a Portrait
In addition to providing suggestions for drawing the perfect portrait, Kids at Art looks at Leonardo da Vinci and his ideas about depicting the human figure.
J. Paul Getty Trust
J. Paul Getty Museum: Drawings by Rembrandt and His Pupils
Compare and contrast drawings by Rembrandt with those of his students to learn about his characteristic visual traits, especially his approach to line and his use of light and shadow to create the illusion of three dimensions.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Studies for the Last Judgment and a Late Crucifixion Drawing
The Last Judgement was a common theme in church art, but Michelangelo's interpretation was entirely novel. His vision of the Apocalypse is a swirling maelstrom, filled with thick-set and muscular naked figures. Traditional symmetry and...
Goshen College
Art Department: Self Portrait Montage
Take the pressure off your students of drawing the human face. With this lesson create a self-portrait with collage materials.
Other
Da Vinci's Anatomical Drawings
The Geneva Foundation for Medical Education displays a collection of Leonardo's sketches and studies of the human body, internal organs, bones, and an infant in utero. An excellent site for comparing the characteristics of art and...
Incredible Art Department
Miriam Shapiro Action Figures Collage
A lesson plan introducing students to the art of Miriam Shapiro and the human figure.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Math + Arts: Shapes Into Sculptures
In this lesson, students will identify 2- and 3-dimensional shapes as well as create shape drawings and sculptures. Teacher materials are available.
Incredible Art Department
The Incredible Art Department: Cartoon Lessons: Cartoon Art Club
A collection of illustrated step-by-step instructions on how to draw various cartoon figures.
New York University
Grey Art Gallery: John Singer Sargent, Draughtsman
Resource presents this look at the drawings and sketchwork of American painter John Singer Sargent.
National Library of France
National Library of France: Renaissance Drawings
This exhibition of drawings from the Renaissance contains numerous examples of figurative, architectural, and decorative subjects. Short explanatory notes provide the historical and artistic context of similarly themed works. A useful...
Curated OER
Web Gallery of Art: Landscape With Farmyard and Figure Drawing Water From Well
An image of "Landscape with Farmyard and Figure Drawing Water from Well", created by Cornelis Gerritsz Deckerz (Oil on canvas, 84 x 107 cm).
Other
Sweet Briar College: Prehistoric Art
A wealth of artifacts beginning with one of the earliest pieces of sculpture, the Venus of Willendorf and progressing through the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic periods.
Smithsonian Institution
National Portrait Gallery: A Brush With History
Exhibition of portraits of American heroes, statesmen, writers, artists, scientists, and historical figures draws on the paintings in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery to consider the story of America. View portraits from...
National Library of France
National Library of France: Face to Face
This portrait gallery of diverse approaches to representing the face and the human figure is rich in style and technique. A useful resource for comparing and contrasting how different artists figure out what makes portraiture interesting.
University of Chicago
Ancient Egyptian Images
Scroll through five images of Egyptian art. Includes photography images and line drawings.
Curated OER
Clip Art by Phillip Martin: Figure Skater
Cartoon drawing of figure skater Michelle Kwan.
Princeton University
Princeton University: The Art Museum
The Art Museum at Princeton University has a permanent collection ranging over time from ancient to contemporary and from the Mediterranean to Western Europe, China, Latin America and the U.S. Greek and Roman antiquities and Roman...
Curated OER
Web Gallery of Art: Costume Drawing for a Female Figure With Torch
An image of "Costume drawing for a female figure with torch", created by Giuseppe Arcimboldo in 1585 (Pen, blue wash on white paper, 303 x 205 mm).
Curated OER
Web Gallery of Art: Costume Drawing of a Female Figure With Torch
An image of "Costume drawing of a female figure with torch", created by Giuseppe Arcimboldo in 1585 (Pen, blue wash on white paper, 305 x 204 mm).
Curated OER
Web Gallery of Art: Costume Drawing for a Male Figure With Torch
An image of "Costume drawing for a male figure with torch", created by Giuseppe Arcimboldo in 1585 (Pen, blue wash on white paper, 314 x 203 mm).