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Mastering the Art of Seeing: A Guide to the Bargue Plate - The Atelier Newsletter
Published 2 days ago • 3 min read
The Bargue plates are the ultimate system for learning how to see the world with the precision of an artist, a foundational skill vital for both realistic drawing and painting. Created in the 19th century, the Charles Bargue Drawing Course (Cours de dessin) is more than just a set of copies—it’s a rigorous, time-tested discipline. I used this very method to become a self-taught artist, moving past frustration to genuine competence, and you can achieve the same results!
Charles Bargue - Cours de Dessin - Plate 49 "Agrippa"
The goal is not to produce a pretty drawing but to calibrate your vision to detect subtle errors in shape, value, and edge and teach you to see your model as an artist!
Mastering the Art of Seeing: A Guide to the Bargue Plate
The Setup
Success in a Bargue copy begins before the pencil touches the paper. The method relies on Sight-Size, a technique where the drawing and the subject appear the same size to the artist.
Vertical alignment: Tape your reference plate and your blank paper side-by-side on a vertical drawing board. They must be perfectly flat.
Eye level: The center of the plate should be at your eye level.
Distance: You should stand far enough away (usually 3 paces) so that you can see both the reference and your paper in one glance without turning your head.
▶️Pro Tip: Tape a piece of string with a weight (a plumb line) down the center of your reference and your paper. This vertical line provides a constant "truth" to measure angles against.
Stage 1: Line Drawing or Block-In
Line drawing is the first stage of our drawing process, the aim being to establish proportions as accurately as possible and to create a rough sketch, also known as a “block-in”, i.e. a drawing composed entirely of lines and not filled.
Bargue had a nice way of showing us how this stage works, he made sure to include a simplified line block-in drawing to show us how it’s done.
You're not supposed to copy this simplified version, it's here to help you visualize the shadow shapes.
Do not draw curves. Do not shade during this phase.
Find the Extremes: Mark the highest point, lowest point, and the furthest left and right points. This creates your "envelope."
Straight Lines Only: Using only straight lines, map out the big shapes. If there is a curved ankle, draw it as three or four straight lines.
The "Flick": Stand back. Look at the reference, then quickly flick your eyes to your drawing. If the image "jumps" or moves, your measurements are off.
Find interesting anchor points and try to delineate the shadow shapes (see “shadow mapping” below).
Once your measurements are accurate to the millimeter, you can begin to refine the straight lines into the organic curves of the subject. Go slowly, you always have time to soften the curves later on. Outline the shapes of the shadows just as carefully as the outside of the object. These are called "Shadow Shapes." They should look like puzzle pieces.
Stage 2: Mass Drawing and Values
Mass drawing or pictorial drawing is the second major stage in our process, the aim being to prepare the transition from two-dimensional to three-dimensional drawing, with a drawing composed of lines and filled in with a light tone. At the end of this major stage, the drawing should look like this: proportions are corrected, shadow shapes are filled in and edges are described more precisely.
Fill the Shadows: Fill in your shadow shapes with a single, flat, dark tone (usually a graphite HB or B). Do not worry about details inside the shadow yet. This separates your world into Light and Dark.
The Bedbug Line: Identify the terminator line (where the light turns into shadow). This edge is rarely hard; it is usually soft.
Start filling in the values, work from dark to light, little by little.
Turning the Form: Use a harder pencil (H or 2H) to gently hatch value transitions in the light areas. You are grading the values from the dark shadow edge toward the bright highlight.
The Golden Rule of Value: The darkest light should never be as dark as the lightest shadow. Keep your light family and shadow family separate.
3 Habits for Success
The Mirror Trick: Look at your drawing in a mirror. The reversed image will instantly reveal skewing or symmetry errors your brain had ignored.
Negative Space: Don't just look at the foot or the hand. Look at the white shape between the toes. If the shape of the empty space is correct, the object will be correct.
Patience: A single plate can take 20 to 60 hours. If you get frustrated, take a break. The lesson is in the struggle to see correctly.
Free Art Newsletter filled with the best oil painting and drawing tips, directly from the Atelier tradition. Timeless techniques to enjoy weekly to grow and inspire.
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