Painting of the Day: “A Footman Sleeping” by Charles Bargue, 1871

A Footman Sleeping
Charles Bargue, 1871
The Metroplitan Museum of Art

French artist and lithographer Charles Bargue produced many exceptional works of art which were heradled for their richness of color, and, most especially, their beautifully balanced compositions. Aside from his artwork, Bargue’s most influential contribution to Art History is his Cours de dessin. The Cours de dessin was a specially designed drawing course which was published from 1866-1871. The course included one hundred ninety-seven of Bargue’s lithographs which were printed on individual leaves. The lithographs were meant to guide art students to master their drawing skills by first drawing from plaster casts, then emulating the works of the great masters, and finally drawing from life. Many renowned artists studied from the Cours de dessin—most notably Vincent Van Gogh who copied the entire book in 1880 and, again, in part in 1890.


An excellent representation of Bargue’s talent is A Footman Sleeping which was finished in 1871. Here, we see that a footman has fallen asleep on the job—presumably waiting for his employers to return home. Bargue’s exquisite sense of balance is seen here as the sitter occupies the center of the scene—flanked by furniture and architecture of equal weight. The viewer is guided though the scene by means of the color white—the footman’s glove that has fallen to the floor, his hose, his hat and the papers stacked on the chair. We are then lead in the opposite direction by gold which leads our eyes to the framed painting above the man’s had. This sort of clever composition served as an excellent example for young artists. Bargue may have simply wished to teach what he knew, but in doing so, he also created a legacy which extends well past his own paintbrush.