You might be forgiven for wondering just how many books one author can wring out of a single subject. I do, and then I'm amazed by how Giovanni manages to come up with a different angle every time, so that I have to recommend the latest title even if I've also recommended all the previous ones. Of all his books, this is perhaps the most comprehensive and the most valuable, both for the beginner and the more experienced artist. As ever, the working method is to concentrate on the illustrations, of which there are hundreds, and to provide explanatory captions where necessary that tell you what to look for, rather than what you're looking at. In this volume, there are also introductory passages that discuss light, shadow and perspective in pleasantly simple ways. Figures, both male and female, are shown in a variety of poses, and both nude and clothed. It's very useful that the clothed and unclothed figures are shown in the same pose so that you can see how the inner structure informs the outer. Giovanni's economy of style, both drawn and written, packs an enormous amount into only 112 pages and this is one of the best books on figure drawing I've seen.-Artbookreview.net

GIOVANNI CIVARDI was born in Milan in 1947. While training to become a sculptor, portrait artist and illustrator at the Free Life-Study School of the Accademia di Brera, he also studied medicine and surgery. For over a decade, he worked as an illustrator, producing commissions for newspapers, magazines and book covers. During frequent trips to France and Denmark, Civardi put on one-man exhibitions of this work and pursued his interest in studying the relationship between medical anatomy and the human form as depicted by the artist. His experience gained from teaching anatomy, life drawing and portraiture in schools and institutions over many years has led to the publication of numerous books in which Civardi's experiences are brought into focus.