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- For non-artistic human models, see Model (person)
Thoughout the history of Western Art, drawing the human figure from living models was considered the most useful tool in developing the skill of draftsmanship. In the art school classroom setting, the purpose is to learn how to draw humans of all different shapes, ages, and ethnicities, so there are no real limitations on who the model can be. In some cases, the model may pose with various props.
Posing
While posing, the model is expected to remain motionless, like a mannequin. The model is generally discouraged from speaking, wriggling, itching, or readjusting during the pose. To accommodate the physical limitations of the model, the instructor or artist may set up a schedule such as 25 minutes on, 10 minutes off to relax the muscles. The model's level of experience and skill may be taken into account in determining the length of the posing session and the difficulty of the poses.
Poses generally fall into three categories: standing, seated and reclining. Within each of these there are varying levels of difficulty, so one kind is not always easier than another. Artists and life drawing instructors will often prefer poses in which the body is being exerted, for a more dynamic and aesthetically interesting subject. Common poses such as standing twists, slouched seated poses and especially the classical contrapposto are difficult to sustain accurately for any amount of time. Poses can range in length from several seconds to many hours. Short dynamic poses may be used for gesture drawing exercises, with the model striking a pose - which can include strenuous or precarious positions that could not be sustained for a longer pose - just long enough for the artist to quickly capture the essence of it. Active, gestural, or challenging standing poses are often scheduled at the beginning of a session when the models' energy level is highest. Short exercises in drawing classes typically run from 5 to 25 minutes. For extended poses in which the model will take one or more breaks, chalk marks and/or masking tape are often used to help the model resume the same pose. These breaks - during which the model usually wears a robe or puts on clothing - allow the model to stretch, relax and attend to other needs.
Nude models
Artistic models are often entirely nude, apart from inconspicuous personal items such as small jewelry. In a job advertisement seeking nude models, this may sometimes be referred to as being "undraped." In Western countries, there is generally no prohibition on the sexes posing nude for or drawing members of the opposite sex, although this was not always the case in the past. In Victorian times some art schools allowed female nudes—but only if their faces were draped. Up into the present day some rare art classes prefer male models to wear a jockstrap.
During art school classes or an academic setting, it is commonly prohibited for anyone (including the instructor) to touch or interfere with the model. Very close examination or requests for adjustment are typical—with the permission of the model. A few institutions allow only the instructor to speak directly with the model.
History
The Greeks, who had the naked body constantly before them in the exercises of the gymnasium, had far less need of professional models than the moderns; but it is scarcely likely that they could have attained the high level reached by their works without constant study from nature. It was probably in Ancient Greece that models were first used. The story told of Zeuxis by Valerius Maximus, who had five of the most beautiful virgins of the city of Crotone offered him as models for his picture of Helen, proves their occasional use.
During the Renaissance, painters generally made use of their relations and friends as models, of which many examples might be quoted from Venice, Florence, Rome and other places, and the stories of Titian and the duchess of Ferrara and of Botticelli and Simonetta Vespucci, go to show that ladies of exalted rank were sometimes not averse from having their charms immortalized by the painter's brush. Paid models were not unknown, as the story of the unfortunate contadino used by Jacopo Sansovino as model for his statue of the Bacchus will show*.
Artists' models as a special class appear when the establishment of schools for the study of the human figure created a regular demand, and since that time the remuneration offered has ensured a continual supply. In the media era, modeling is also coveted as a way to achieve notoriety or even celebrity status opening the way to other carreers, such as acting.
Non-academic modeling
Models are hired by a variety of creative professionals, including not only painters and sculptors, but video game designers, furniture designers, people who craft artificial limbs, etc. This work varies somewhat from modeling for a class. The conventions for this type of modeling are much less well defined, especially as the models are often friends or family. Artists who regularly hire strangers will usually hold to art school standards in order to make models feel more comfortable, and to avoid possible legal issues.
Professional artists often have a circle of models they work through, hiring and adding as time passes. When a comfortable working relationship is established, many painters and artists relax their standards and models do the same. Longer poses, more comfortable and casual environments, and more collegial relationships may develop. However, in a professional studio environment, with an artist on a deadline or with commission guidelines, art school and art-model industry standards generally apply, with higher rates of pay and longer, more demanding poses.
Models are now especially used in the publicity industry, often combining posing with more active work such as the catwalk. The career is an attractive profession for the more successful models, and profesional modeling agencies help regulate the market as well as assisting their client's modeling carreers.
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"Model (art)"