Bargue Drawings by Students of the Mandy Boursicot Atelier

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Bargue Pencil Drawing by Chanel Cha "Bargue Arm"

Bargue Pencil Drawing by Chanel Cha "Bargue Arm" pencil

Charles Bargue, a French painter and lithographer, developed a drawing course consisting of 197 lithographic plates based on plaster casts, drawings of master artists and live models. Bargue's Cours de Dessin, published in the 1860s, was widely used in Academies and French state schools to prepare aspiring artists for further study. It was designed to teach classical methods of portrait and figure drawing, taking students through all the steps needed to understand and produce the aesthetics embodied in classical art. As a result, the late nineteenth century became the pinnacle of realism. Masters of that period, as well as methods of those Masters, are being rediscovered today.

Bargue pencil drawings accomplished by Mandy Boursicot's students in the tradition of the 19th Century French atelier are on display at the Tartine Gallery from March 7th to April 2nd. These works represent the first beginner exercises a student must complete as a foundation to further training. The academic method emphasizes accuracy, solidity and finish. Bargue drawings are both the product of a rigorous exercise and a reverent tribute to the human form.

Mandy Boursicot, Canadian Drawing Master, spent four years at the Angel Academy of Art in Florence, Italy, studying, mastering, and, in her final year, teaching classical drawing. In her atelier, students are encouraged to complete the four levels of Bargue drawings as an aid to life drawing, portrait drawing and still life.