A figure study is a painting

Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

, drawing

Drawing

Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...

, sculpture

Sculpture

Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...

 or photograph

Photograph

A photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...

 made for study purposes with a live model as the subject matter. The live model can be clothed, partly clothed or nude

Nudity

Nudity is the state of wearing no clothing. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic. The amount of clothing worn depends on functional considerations and social considerations...

 and the art work is a representation of the full body of the model, or of multiple parts of the model (such as hands, or feet). Figure studies are usually completed in a relatively short length of time that can last from a few minutes up to a few hours. Therefore these studies often have a sketchy character. For more elaborate art works the term 'figure study' is not used; the art work is called nude, nude painting, figure piece or figure painting.

'Figure study' usually refers to an artist's finished work, but it can also be used to describe the creative process.

"The live model can be clothed, partly clothed or nude."
Figure study is a general term that leaves a critical, sensitive criteria unknown. Many artist do excellent figure studies and would not want to be thought to be doing art involving a nude. In the same manner, there are
photographers who do figure studies that almost never include clothes. Figure study photographs without clothes are often called figurenude photographs to more precisely describe what can be a sensitive subject.

See also

• Figure painting
  Figure painting
  Figure painting is a form of the visual arts in which the artist uses a live model as the subject of a two-dimensional piece of artwork using paint as the medium. The live model can be either nude or partly or fully clothed and the painting is a representation of the full body of the model...
  
  
• Figure drawing
  Figure drawing
  In art, a figure drawing is a study of the human form in its various shapes and body postures - sitting, standing or even sleeping. It is a study or stylized depiction of the human form, with the line and form of the human figure as the primary objective, rather than the subject person. It is a...
  
  
• Model (art)
  Model (art)
  Art models are models who pose for photographers, painters, sculptors, and other artists as part of their work of art. Art models who pose in the nude for life drawing are usually called life models...
  
  
• Nudity
  Nudity
  Nudity is the state of wearing no clothing. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic. The amount of clothing worn depends on functional considerations and social considerations...
  
  
• Nude photography
  Nude photography
  Nude photography is a style of art photography which depicts the nude human body as a study. Nude photography should be distinguished from glamour photography, which places more emphasis on the model and her/his sexuality, and treats the model as the primary subject. Nude photography should also be...