La anatomía como disciplina artística en la Escuela Pública de Dibujo de Pamplona

Abstract

As from the setting up of the Public School of Draughtsmanship in Pamplona there is a clear trend towards the study of anatomy and the human figure. This is reflected in the manuscript of a charter drafted by the first director of the institution, Mr. Miguel Sanz y Benito. After an initial part devoted to the origin, importance, explanation and classification of drawing, Sanz approaches the human figure, organising its study in several sections: osteology or knowledge of the bones, myology or knowledge of the muscles, proportions and symmetry of the human figure and, finally, the explanation of foreshortenings. Various sources have been consulted by the author for the elaboration of the text, like the Varia Commensuracion by Juan de Arfe or the Arte de la Pintura (the Art of Painting) by Pachecobut above all, the Museo Pictórico y Escala Óptima (Pictorial Museum and Optimal Scale) by Palomino, some chapters of which were copied almost literally by Miguel Sanz.