From Life
11 December 2017 - 11 March 2018
The Sackler Wing of Galleries and Tennant Gallery
Saturday – Thursday 10am – 6pm
Friday 10am – 10pm
Ticket prices start from £11 (£10 without donation). Concessions available. Friends of the RA, and under 16s when with a fee-paying adult, go free.
Friends of the RA go free
Looking to the past, present and future of one of the cornerstones of artistic process, we ask what it means to make art from life, and how the practice is evolving as technology opens up new ways of making and seeing.
Drawing from casts and life models was long considered essential training for any aspiring artist, and was once a staple of the Royal Academy's own art school. Now, on the cusp of the RA's 250th anniversary, this special exhibition project takes an inquisitive look at the tradition and its ongoing relationship with artists today.
Beginning with historic works drawn from the RA Collection, From Life traces a line from the origins of the RA in the 18th century to the present day. Alongside a room devoted to Jeremy Deller's Iggy Pop Life Class, which took place at the Brooklyn Museum in 2016, we show contemporary work in diverse media by various artists including Lucian Freud and his studio assistant David Dawson, Jonathan Yeo, and numerous Royal Academicians who continue to interrogate the practice of working from life, among them Jenny Saville, Chantal Joffe, Antony Gormley and Gillian Wearing.
Finally in the Tennant Gallery, subject to availability, new interactive work of artists Yinka Shonibare and Humphrey Ocean, and architect Farshid Moussavi offers a glimpse of possible future applications of virtual reality in the art of tomorrow. Through these, we see how emerging technologies such as HTC Vive and Tilt Brush by Google are presenting artists with new ways to both observe and represent themselves, opening up unexplored techniques and pushing back physical limitations.
All ticket prices include £2.50 for a printed gallery guide.
The visitor’s experience of the virtual reality element within the exhibition will depend on availability. As each virtual reality artwork can only be experienced individually, there may be queues at busy times and access cannot be guaranteed.
Saturday – Thursday 10am – 6pm
Friday 10am – 10pm
Ticket prices start from £11 (£10 without donation). Concessions available. Friends of the RA, and under 16s when with a fee-paying adult, go free.
Friends of the RA go free
Supporters
Virtual reality partner
Project partners
Reviews
A relentlessly provocative show... invites you to rethink what it means to make art from life.
Evening Standard
Weekly drop-in drawing sessions
If you're visiting From Life on a Tuesday, join us in the Iggy Pop Life Class room for a free, informal drawing session inside the exhibition. Artist educator and RA Schools graduate Becky Jelly will take you through a series of short drawing exercises using classical casts from the RA Collection, historically used for training students in the RA Schools. There's no need to book or bring anything; all materials will be provided. Remember to share your work with us afterwards using #FromLife.
Participation is limited to 15 people per session on a first-come, first-served basis.
Tuesdays from 30 January, 11.30am-12pm and 2-2.30pm.
#LifeDrawingLive
On Thursday 25 January, we broadcast a life-drawing class live from the RA’s historic Life Room. Led by Jonathan Yeo to coincide with From Life, our first ever live-streamed life drawing class has been watched by over 50,000 people. Catch up here and take the class just as it happened on the night.
Gallery
Drawing from Life at the Royal Academy, Somerset House, 1 January 1808
GAZE III, 2015
Natural History, 2017
The Butt, 2007
Entry, 2004-05
A Beginning, Blond Girl, 1980
Self-Portrait with Hand on Hip, 2016
Jonathan Yeo's self-portrait made in virtual reality
For From Life, painter Jonathan Yeo has been experimenting with depicting his own body in virtual reality. Explore his studio and the process behind his work in this 360 degree video.
Antony Gormley RA considers the possibilities of VR
These clips are part of a documentary by Factory 42 titled Royal Academy: Painting the Future, first broadcast at 9pm on 13 December 2017 on Sky Arts. The full documentary is available after broadcast on Sky's Catch Up TV.
Yinka Shonibare RA shares the thoughts behind his new VR work
These clips are part of a documentary by Factory 42 titled Royal Academy: Painting the Future, first broadcast at 9pm on 13 December 2017 on Sky Arts. The full documentary is available after broadcast on Sky's Catch Up TV.
Humphrey Ocean recalls learning to draw from punk rocker Ian Dury
These clips are part of a documentary by Factory 42 titled Royal Academy: Painting the Future, first broadcast at 9pm on 13 December 2017 on Sky Arts. The full documentary is available after broadcast on Sky's Catch Up TV.
Farshid Moussavi explains the power of virtual architecture
These clips are part of a documentary by Factory 42 titled Royal Academy: Painting the Future, first broadcast at 9pm on 13 December 2017 on Sky Arts. The full documentary is available after broadcast on Sky's Catch Up TV.
Artists and technology in the 15th century
These clips are part of a documentary by Factory 42 titled Royal Academy: Painting the Future, first broadcast at 9pm on 13 December 2017 on Sky Arts. The full documentary is available after broadcast on Sky's Catch Up TV.
HTC Vive
Walk through Yinka Shonibare’s re-imagined rendering of a Neo-classical painting, adapt and transform ecclesiastical architecture in the work of Farshid Moussavi, or create your own 3D sketches in response to Humphrey Ocean’s fascination with chairs by following the artist’s helpful tips.
HTC Vive aims to offer greater access to arts and museum experiences using digital innovations and Virtual Reality. As part of their Vive Arts project, they supported the development of these artworks made using VR. and have now published them online for anyone to view, for free.
Please note, you will need an HTC headset to do this.
RA250 memberships
To celebrate our 250th birthday in 2018, we are offering limited edition memberships – giving you the opportunity to get closer to the New Royal Academy of Arts and our expanded programme.
Artists Working From Life
Artists Working From Life is the first publication that explores the meaning of working from life today, featuring artists such as Jeremy Deller, Anthony Gormley, Chantal Joffe, Jonathan Yeo, Yinka Shonibare and Gillian Wearing.
This engrossing book compiles interviews with 19 contemporary architects, painters, sculptors and conceptual artists to present inspiring interpretations of this deeply rooted artistic tradition.
Read more
Chantal Joffe RA: "If I can paint it, I can deal with it"
23 February 2018
The life-drawing class you can take from home
13 February 2018
