The last two homework assignments I received for the Intro to Pencil Drawing class, which concluded last Monday, were two different plates with two different limbs: one with an arm (Bargue Plate 21) and one with a leg (Bargue Plate 25). Compared to other plates and assignments, the gesture and detail in these two plates are relatively simple. What proved to be the biggest challenge for me was getting the height-to-width ratio correct.
It’s obvious in both my drawings, when compared to the original plates, that I rendered both limbs a little on the “stubby” side. When I think about my process, I can only come to the conclusion that, in trying to stay strictly within my top and bottom boundaries, which are set before blocking-in the lines of the subject, I miscalculated the width. Simply adjusting the width of some of the sections, as well as the height of some of the lines in the thigh, the calf muscle, etc., would have brought these drawings closer to the original.
I have seem many examples of students learning the Bargue Method online. In most of the examples I found, students are taping the plate to one side of their clipboard or drawing board, and their sketch pad or paper to the other side. So, in effect, they are literally drawing side-by-side from the original. In this class, Katya Held teaches the Bargue Method by posting the plate on a wall a few feet in front of our easels, so we are also increasing or decreasing the ratio of the drawing instead of creating a replica of the same size. I believe this to be exponentially more difficult than doing the side-by-side method, but more effective in training our artistic eyes because of much more challenging it is.
When increasing or decreasing the size of a subject, maintaining its height-to-width ratio is one of the biggest challenges as an artist, and a challenge about which I will need to be more aware moving forward.
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