The 16th-century artist Parmigianino was known for his extraordinary and prolific draughtsmanship. About 1000 drawings survived at the time of his early death, demonstrating a variety of techniques and innovative compositional choices. Drawing directly from a life model and taking inspiration from Parmigianino’s drawings in our exhibition 'Parmigianino: The Vision of Saint Jerome', we will explore how to render the human figure in this online creative course. 

In this session, artist and educator Bethan Durie will lead you through a series of exercises to craft a vibrant figurative composition. You will learn about how to render the human body with a variety of techniques including tone, negative space, and foreshortening, while simultaneously creating a dynamic and unified drawing by the end of the session. 

All you will need for this session is a piece of mid-tone paper, a rubber, one black drawing tool and one white drawing tool. You can use pencils, chalk, or pastels for this session. A list of suggested materials will also be available in your National Gallery account prior to the session.