Introduction to Charles Bargue’s Drawing Course
€15.00
E-BOOK
33 Pages
Medium: Pencil / Charcoal
This 33-page e-book introduces you to Charles Bargue’s famous 19th-century French drawing course (or ‘Cours de dessin’), and contains step-by-step instructions on how to complete the drawings as well as exercises in general drawing skills and techniques that you will need.
Bargue’s Drawing Course still remains one of the most influential drawing courses in art education. Designed to instruct art students in the methods, techniques and 19th-century conventions for drawing, it was typically used to gain admittance into an art school or to raise the skill of an artist privately.
This course is geared to studying accuracy, line and form, starting with with silhouettes and gradually moving towards more difficult drawings. Cours de dessin teaches you how to slow down and take your time, working methodically on these are exercises. One of the advantages of the Bargue plates is that all of the solutions are already there, as opposed to cast drawing, which is three-dimensional and which you would have to light yourself in a way that clarifies the forms.
A complete materials and equipment list is provided in the opening section of this e-book. You can either buy or download a free version of the Ackerman edition of the original book. Please see the “Ackerman Edition” tab below for details.
To purchase and access this e-book, please add to the basket and once you’ve purchased it at the check-out page, a download button will appear where you can download and save the e-book.
This e-book is a PDF (Portable Document Format) version, and can be saved to your computer or device, or viewed online.
Bargue’s drawing course outlines a very methodical step-by-step procedure for drawing. The book is divided into three sections, and my e-book focuses on parts one and three:
- His own drawings after plaster casts
- Master drawings
- Academic figure drawings
Originally commissioned by the French government in the 1860s, Cours de dessin was published by Goupil & Cie, Paris, between 1866 and ’71, and was produced in collaboration with Jean-Léon Gérôme. It was intended to preserve traditional art practices as artists began to break with the old academic style and adopt looser modern techniques. By copying the 197 lithographs in the drawing manual, it prepared students for cast drawing and later, life or figure drawing; thus, it loosely reflects the first year of traditional atelier training.
Ackerman Edition
Reviews
The figure drawing course given by Adrian is to be recommended both as a comprehensive introduction to all relevant aspects for the beginner and as a structured approach for the self-taught or the advancing student. Over the period of ten classes to draw from life gradually becomes possible and at the end the students are left with the means to take their drawings to whatever level they wish. The informal atmosphere of the classes and the individual tuition provided, together with the invaluable skills transfer and motivation which only a hands-on course can give combine to make this course a most enjoyable and worthwhile study of what, for me at least, is the central subject in visual art in the medium which best does it justice.
– Jim
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