Cours de dessin – Part III Figure Drawing with Anthony Stokes

Description

Cours de dessin – The Bargue journey with Anthony Stokes

Charles Bargue’s Cours de dessin is one of the most influential classical drawing courses conceived in collaboration with Jean-Léon Gérôme. The course, published between 1866 and 1871 comprised 197 lithographs printed as individual sheets, was to guide students from plaster casts to the study of great master drawings and finally to drawing from the living model. The Charles Bargue Drawing Course is used by many academies and ateliers which focus on classical realism.

The Drawing Course is separated into three sections, in ascending order of difficulty. The first section consists of lithographs by Bargue after casts of sculptures, mostly antique examples that present the structure of the human body with remarkable clarity and intelligence. The second part contains the lithographs that Bargue made after master drawings by Renaissance and modern artists, and the third section almost 60 exemplary figure drawings.

While this is a comprehensive curriculum covering the entire Bargue process, each 4-week session is designed to be able to take independently and will concentrate on specific features of the process.

Supply List for The Bargue Process

• Charcoal pencils (soft, medium, and hard)
• Graphite pencil – 2B and 2H
• Nitram Charcoal: B and HB
• Quality Drawing Paper: 18×24 (Strathmore 400)
• Canson Mi-teintes white – 1 sheet
• Drawing board to support paper and photo reference
• Kneaded eraser
• Hog bristle brushes – #4 bright, #8 filbert
• Sandpaper and utility knife for sharpening
• Paper towels (preferably Bounty)
• Eraser pencil with brush end (Faber Castell)
• Masking tape

Cours de dessin – Part III Figure Drawing

Section I – Gesture and Life

Yes! The gesture!  We will now begin to gain a great understanding of gesture.  This is the life of your work.  It is the expression and emotions you convey to people.  Everything builds off of it and your art depends on it!

Section II – Articulating the Figure

This section will combine gesture and articulation of anatomy in your figure drawing.  This will really give your work the feeling of life and form without using values.  A great technique to use when designing and sketching your compositions.

Section III – Putting it all together – Simplifying the Figure

Now you will create a finished figure drawing with limited values learning to simplify and draw what really matters.  Simplicity is mastery and here you will do that.