Bargue Plate, Bent Arm of a Man, Graphite

A recent Bargue plate drawing I did over the summer is on the cover of the latest special supplement issue of Drawing Magazine. I completed this Bargue copy via the sister school of Janus Collaborative, NYK Academy on the 2nd Fl of the Harlem Studios (JCSA is on the 3rd Fl). Both programs, in my opinion, serve to complement each other by training your eye in completely two different ways. AT JCSA we focus on the figure and direct observation where measuring is used as a check. It is based on a more structural analysis of drawing where ideas of perspective and constructive anatomy lie strong in the pedagogy.

NYK Academy’s curriculum is based on the sight-size drawing technique of the Florence Academy. This program originated with Andrea Smith who attended and taught at the Florence Academy. She now advises Judy Kudlow, who is the current instructor of the program. The course consists of a rational progression from graphite to charcoal to paint; the subject matter increases in difficulty with every drawing from 2D or “flats”, which are copies of the Bargues on to casts, then still life. There is also a figure drawing class in the evenings which you can take once you learn to measure (sight-size) in space.

With the sight-size method, measuring is a way to train your eye and you learn many things in a logical and simplified way so that you can achieve control of the materials and sharpen your analytical skills in a different way than the structural/constructive curriculum does. It is based on a more perceptual approach. One of the greatest things I’ve learned from the program so far is how to really analyze a curve. In the morning program at JCSA, we discuss the inflection point(s) of a curve and learn to really spot the change of direction through very close observational skills. However, by doing the Bargues I have noticed that it has only enhanced my analytical skills so that I can draw “by eye” much better.

One misunderstanding may be that everything is measured in the sight-size approach. Soon after my first Bargue plate copy, I quickly learned that this wasn’t true. From how I see it, the measurements serve as a foundation from which to build your drawing upon. Later measurements serve as a check and you have to rely on your eye much more along with a perceptual analysis/observation (AND since I can’t unlearn this…a structural, anatomical and constructive analysis). In short, all my teachers are really saying the same thing anyway. The approaches and techniques only seem different on the surface but the concepts are all the same; it’s just another tool.

This special issue of Drawing Magazine discusses the importance of copying master drawings and the lessons behind them, amongst many, many other interesting articles concerning drawing and draftsmanship.

Below are images of my Bargue copy of the male arm in various steps:

"Block-In" or Contours

Shadows

Intermediary Tones

Final Drawing (Stop Modeled in Graphite)

Rusty Ladle

This is the first pass to the still life set-up of a simple rusty ladle. It’s under artificial lighting, and you can check out the poster study here. I’m attracted to the simplicity of the object, its colors and the old, rusty texture of the metal. And I just love the high contrast of the dark cast shadow to the light blasting the background and top section of the ladle.

I decided against a grisaille and started directly with an ébauche (first pass or underpainting, always in color – at least in the tradition/approach practiced by Bouguereau and other 19th Century painters), simply because the value range of the composition is so small and compressed. I wanted a base with color and value decisions in the underpainting to work off of for the following pass. It seemed that building on top of this and layering the textures on top of something with form, color and value made the most sense.

back, male torso (Bargue Plate 56)

The left column features a schematic to aid you in approaching the “block-in” for the Bargue copy while the one next to it is the finished drawing. The drawing on the right column is my finished drawing.

Drawing in Charcoal, Mucha

Mucha at Work

Not only was Alfons (also spelled as Alphonse) Mucha an excellent draughtsman, but he excelled in design and the decorative arts.  Though he is more notably known for his work in poster design, illustration and advertising, his brilliant eye for design and composition paired with exquisite line work in both his more traditional paintings and drawings and in his illustrative posters allowed him to successfully merge the two areas of art and design in the style we now know as Art Nouveau.

France Embraces Bohemia, oil painting by Mucha

Just like many artists of the time, he travelled to Paris in 1887 to further develop his art training in one of the many Parisian academies or ateliers alongside with some of the best artists in the 19th Century.  

Self Portrait, oil

He became a student at the Academie Julien and the Academie Colarossi (sculpture based training).  

painting in oil, Mucha

oil painting, Mucha

During his studies, Mucha produced magazine illustrations and advertising most likely to help pay for his studies and living expenses in Paris.  Not only did he create a multitude of posters and advertisements for the theatre, but this prolific Czech painter produced numerous works of art and continues to influence generations of artists, painters, graphic designers, designers, lettering/typography and draughtsmen today.

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Relevant links:
Mucha Museum online
The Official Mucha Website
Images – The Olga Gallery

Other blog posts on Mucha:
Lines and Colors
The Artistic Anatomy Blog, Mucha’s “France Embraces Bohemia“