Charles Bargue and Jean-Léon Gérôme Author: Gerald Ackerman | Language: English | ISBN:
2867702038 | Format: PDF
Charles Bargue and Jean-Léon Gérôme Description
About the Author
Gerald Ackerman was born in California. He completed his studies at the University of California at Berkeley, then at the University of Munich and finally at Princeton, where he received his PhD. For twenty years, he was a professor of art history at Pomona College in California. He is a specialist of Gerome and published studies on other 19th century American and European artists, as well as on the theory of academic art.
- Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: Acr Edition (Acc); 3rd edition (October 16, 2011)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 2867702038
- ISBN-13: 978-2867702037
- Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 9.7 x 1.1 inches
- Shipping Weight: 4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
I saw the show that accompanied this book and it really re-invigorated me during a difficult time in my progress as an artist. Bargue is a unique figure in art history; his work is breathtaking and his career is an inspiring puzzle.
The plates from the drawing course are interesting, and certainly of historical value--I have often seen Picasso's student copies of Bargue's lithographs reproduced in books (but never credited!). However, it should be said that this course was created fairly late in the history of academic painting and did not contribute to the training of its most well-known artists, such as Bouguereau. Personally, I would not find the course very useful; in this day and age one can easily find excellent reproductions of the drawings that Bargue copied, as well as high-resolution photographs of antique sculptures. It is informative to see how Bargue simplified forms, but I think one would be better off drawing from life than from his lithographs.
It is Bargue's paintings that really deserve the most notice, although they seem to have been included in this book (and in the exhibition) almost as an afterthought. His technique is exquisite beyond description, comparable to the very best of the Dutch masters. The plates, although good, don't begin to capture the impossible perfection of his work--I doubt that any reproduction could. He describes surfaces and textures with a graceful delicacy that I've never seen surpassed. His draftsmanship and sense of gesture are understated yet flawless, and his compositions--consisting of orientalist and historical genre subjects--are delightful if not particularly original.
It is distressing that so little is known of his life, other than the fact that he was, perplexingly, rather unsuccessful.
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