360 video
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.
From Life
11 December 2017 — 11 March 2018
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.
11 December 2017 — 11 March 2018
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.
The Sackler Wing of Galleries and Tennant Gallery
Virtual reality partner
Project partners
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Weekly drop-in drawing sessions
Free with a 'From Life' ticket and for Friends of the RA
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.
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#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.
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Gallery
Thomas Rowlandson and Augustus Charles Pugin, Drawing from Life at the Royal Academy, Somerset House, 1 January 1808.
The making of Jonathan Yeo’s virtual self-portrait, in legendary sculptor Eduoardo Paolozzi’s former studio
Antony Gormley RA, GAZE III, 2015.
Humphrey Ocean RA, Natural History, 2017.
Ellen Altfest, The Butt, 2007.
Jenny Saville RA, Entry, 2004-05.
Lucian Freud, A Beginning, Blond Girl, 1980.
Chantal Joffe RA, Self-Portrait with Hand on Hip, 2016.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Read more
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Our Collection
2 years ago
Naked truth: the story of female life models at the RA
What does a 230-year-old household bill tell us about life modelling in the 18th-century? Here, we explore the historical role of the female nude life model at the RA.
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Our Collection
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The RA will turn 250 on 10 December this year. To celebrate, we’re highlighting 250 beautiful, odd and inspiring objects from our Collection across 25 themes. We’re starting with the study of human anatomy, once a key part of the artistic training provided at the RA Schools. Here’s our head-to-toe guide to what happens when fresh corpses and fine art meet…
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RA Exhibitions
5 years ago
Chantal Joffe RA: “If I can paint it, I can deal with it”
With a nude self-portrait currently on show in our From Life exhibition, Chantal Joffe discusses her models, inspiration and artistic process with the show’s curator, Adrian Locke.
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RA Exhibitions
5 years ago
Strike a pose: 250 years of life drawing at the RA
As our ‘From Life’ exhibition explores the past, present and future of representing bodies in art, we look back at the Royal Academy’s 250-year tradition of drawing nude models.
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RA Exhibitions
5 years ago
360 video: how Jonathan Yeo turned virtual reality into bronze
As part of our From Life exhibition project, painter Jonathan Yeo has been depicting his own body in virtual reality. In this 360 degree video, explore his studio as he creates a virtual self-portrait to be 3D-printed as a sculpture.
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RA Exhibitions
5 years ago
“It’s a trick on consciousness” – Antony Gormley on virtual reality
To celebrate our From Life exhibition, filmmakers followed artists and architects including Antony Gormley, Farshid Moussavi, Yinka Shonibare and Humphrey Ocean as they experimented with virtual reality in their practices. Watch five clips from the documentary here.
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RA Exhibitions
5 years ago
From pencil and paper to virtual reality: working from life today
With our current exhibition exploring the past, present and future of working from life, art critic Ben Luke explores how today’s artists are rethinking this seemingly traditional process in innovative, unexpected ways.
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Inside the Academy
< 8 years ago
Five quick tips to improve your life-drawing
The RA Schools’ Head of Sculpture and Printmaking led a life-drawing masterclass as part of our first Friends week. Here he shares five key pieces of advice.
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