Editorial Reviews

Review
"Brilliant.... Exquisite drawings.... Detailed descriptions.... Beautiful and ex
tensively labelled photos of models."--American Artist
"Very thorough and well presented."--C. Moone, University of Colorado at Denver
"Extremely detailed and well illustrated. The drawings of bone structure, isolat
ed muscle, muscle groups, followed by corresponding photographs is very useful.
Section on mass conceptions compared with photographs is excellent as well. I ca
n't imagine a more detailed reference for figure study."--Alan Hall, Mohave Comm
unity College
About the Author
Eliot Goldfinger, a renowned sculptor and illustrator, developed the anatomy pro
gram at The New York Academy of Art and has been an instructor at The Art Studen
t's League in New York City.
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Product Details
Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press; 1st edition (November 7, 1991)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0195052064
ISBN-13: 978-0195052060
Product Dimensions: 12.3 x 1.1 x 9.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (73 customer review
s)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #138,996 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
#42 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > Visual Arts > Drawing
#53 in Books > Arts & Photography > Drawing > Specific Objects
#124 in Books > Arts & Photography > Drawing > Figure Drawing
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Customer Reviews
4.3 out of 5 stars 73
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Top Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 starsAwesome reference
By A Customer on October 2, 2001
Format: Hardcover
This is an extremely exhaustive book and well worth the price. As far as I know,
there exists no more comprehensive book on how every muscle interconnects in th
e human body -- it is truly an encylopedia of the human anatomy.
A few things keep me from giving it a 5 star review.
1: Goldfinger's illustrations are fair, but not masterful, particularly those of
the human face.
2: Strangely, there are almost no fully rendered full-body illustrations or even
any fully rendered "body part" illustrations -- almost all the good sketches ar
e of isolated body parts alone. For example, there isn't any fully rendered musc
ular illustration that encompasses both the upper arm AND the lower arm(!) There
ARE full body illustrations, but only in a more schematical form.
3: There are no "application" illustrations of the anatomy in case studies such
as bending, posing, flexing, etc. Most of the examples are in prone positions.
Granted, much of this information can be taken from any number of other anatomy
books, particularly Richer's "Artistic Anatomy," which this book is largely base
d on and I also highly recommend.
Nevertheless, as a reference guide to the human body, this book has no peer. If
you truly want to understand how the muscles of the body interconnect, there is
no better alternative. This book is obviously a labour of love.
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5.0 out of 5 starsthe best anatomy reference available
By drollere on October 27, 2002
Format: Hardcover
this text served me extremely well as i learned figure drawing and is the best a
natomical reference i have ever seen, a genuine encyclopedia of anatomy. however
, artists should be warned that the approach is analytical (anatomy is broken do
wn into its elements) rather than illustrative (anatomy is presented as pictures
of different poses). goldfinger (a sculptor) attempts to explain surface form s
tructurally, from the inside out -- starting with individual bones, then joints,
then all visible muscles, facial features (eye, mouth, nose, ear), fat pads, su
rface veins and arteries, skin folds and finally a gallery of "mass conceptions"
of the head, hand and full figure as blocks, continuous planes, cylinders, ovoi
ds and photographed models. (some internal musculature is omitted because it doe
s not affect surface form, but there is extensive information and photo document
ation on the facial expression of emotions, largely based on the classic researc
h by ekman and friesen.) this "inside out" approach also determines the content
of the 1 to 3 page descriptions of each bone and muscle. in the section on muscl
es, four diagrams show the skeletal muscle attachments, isolated muscle form, fo
rm within surrounding muscles, and surface appearance in lean models, usually fr
om two different points of view. schematic diagrams analyze muscle form into its
basic shapes, or show the mechanical effects of muscle contraction. the text is
often heavy going but presents unusually detailed and clear explanations of mus
cle attachments, action, form and interaction with other muscles or joints. ther
e is also much information not available anywhere else, and all sex differences
in anatomy (for example in the abdominal musculature and hip bones) are describe
d in the text.Read more
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3.0 out of 5 starsToo many parts, not enough bodies
By An observer on November 7, 2000
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
Detailed -- and disappointing. There are too many written
descriptions, too many line drawings, too much wasted space (large
margins, half-blank pages) and not enough photographs. The first
photograph appears on page 65. Prior to that, over half the pages are
primarily, or entirely, text. A randomly selected passage (p. 37):
"The tibial platform is divided into medial and lateral condyles.
Their top surfaces have elongated shallow facets. These facets
articulate with the medial and lateral condyles of the femur..."
Much of the text throughout the entire book is of this type.
Other
minuses include the paucity of body positions, and the dearth of
ethnicities and body types. Although the body PARTS are seen from the
front, back, and side, there are no bodies DOING anything. There are
no old people, no children, no fat people, no thin people, and except
for one light-skinned black man, no people of races other than
Caucasian. There is very little depiction of male and female
differences, although there is some descriptive text of them.
While
the book description says it includes genitalia, there is extremely
little of it -- hardly enough to mention. There is one photo of a
circumcised penis from the front, and one from the side; and the same
of an uncircumcised one. There are two frontal views of the
"female pubic region", one shaved and one unshaved, both
with legs tightly together. All of these photos are on one page, and
that is the extent of the "genitalia", unless you want to
include the page with female breasts.Read more
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5.0 out of 5 starscomprehensive, well-organized
By Vhy on May 2, 2002
Format: Hardcover
Obviously, no one book can completely cover the subject of human anatomy, but th
is is the most complete reference for muscles that I know of. Basically, every m
uscle has it's own section: a page of illustration & photos, and a page or two o
f text. As a result, virtually everything about the muslces is clear, and I cann
ot say this about other books.
There is also information on bones, facial expression, and drawings that simplif
y the structure of the body. However, I reccomend the book mainly because of how
well it covers muslces. This is an especially nice reference if you can also st
udy a real skeleton and live models