Charles Bargue

Charles Bargue was a French painter and lithographer noted for devising an influential drawing course.

Life and career
His most illustrated work is 'Cours de Dessin’, known as one of the most influential classical drawing course. The course was conceived in collaboration with Jean-Léon Gérôme. Published between 1866 and 1876 by Goupil & Cie, comprised 197 lithographs printed as individual sheets, the course was intended 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. Among the artists whose work is based on the study of Bargue's plate work are Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh, who copied the complete set in 1880/1881, and again in 1890.

Bargue was a student of Jean-Léon Gérôme. Bargue worked closely with Gérôme and was influenced by his style, which included Orientalist scenes and historical genre. Bargue's last painting was completed by Gérôme and is now conserved in the Malden Public Library, Malden, Massachusetts, USA. He travelled extensively through North Africa, and the Balkans, during which time he executed many portraits of local people with meticulous detail.

Charles Bargue Drawing Course
This drawing course has been resurrected in a lithography studio. The plates are available from the original drawing course as they were proposed to academies in 1875. This set of lithographs is adopted by international academies of classical art.

Work
Publication
 * Charles Bargue with the collaboration of Jean-Léon Gérôme, Charles Bargue Drawing Course, 1866

Paintings