Old Masters Academy

salai-how-to-paint-like-Leonardo-his-students-apprentice

Leonardo’s relationship with his students and apprentices

by Rosily Roberts

… Francesco Melzi was, according to historian Vasari, a Milanese nobleman, who inherited many of Leonardo’s manuscripts, instruments, books and drawings. While Leonardo complemented his abilities as a painter, no known paintings by him survive. He has often been exalted as Leonardo’s favourite student, and Leonardo often praised him in letters.

Melzi is responsible for one of the few surviving portrait of Leonardo, which was most likely execute towards the end of his life. It is likely that this is the portrait of Leonardo that Vasari saw in Melzi’s house, and that later become the frontispiece for the Leonardo chapter in Vasari’s Lives of the Artists.

Leonardo da Vinci apprenticeship

by Rosily Roberts

… In 1472 Leonardo was accepted into the painters’ guild of Florence, however, he remained in his teacher’s workshop for five more years, before working independently in Florence until 1481. Many of his pen and pencil drawings exist from this period, as well as technical sketches, including pumps, military weapons and mechanical apparatus, evidencing his interest in and knowledge of technical matters, even early on in his career.

Some of Leonardo’s artistic concerns originate with Verocchio, such as the twisting pose known as the figura serpentinata and the study of contrasting expressions. …

how-to-Leonardo-his-painting-techniques-learned-from-the-Old-Masters

Leonardo Da Vinci was no stranger to failure and rejection

by Rosily Roberts

…Leonardo’s Last Supper brought about a huge shift, not only in the genre of Last Supper paintings, but art in general. He imbued the scene with a movement, expression, drama and realism that had never been seen before. Unfortunately, Leonardo’s experimental painting technique was heavily flawed, and the pigment did not stick to the wall, resulting in the degradation of the image.

Leonardo always regarded himself as something of a failure. In 1490, he tried to get the commission to design a dome for the cathedral of Milan, but his plans were rejects, as were his plans for casting the bronze doors of a cathedral in Piacenza. Leonardo was no stranger to failure and rejection.

Titian’s life and painting methods

… Titian was most well-known for his bold use of colour, which he achieved through seeking out rare pigments and using them in rich and saturated forms, as well as carefully balancing complementary colours together. He also focused on the effect of light on colour, and experimented with light effects to emphasize his contrasting colours. His work exemplifies the Venetian preference for colour, a definitive aspect of Venetian art as opposed to that of Florence. …

Rubens and his painting techniques learned from the Old Masters

by Rosily Roberts

… He used a large amount of greys, blues and greens and a variety of flesh tones, often incorporating deep and luscious reds and gold in exuberance. He employed various undertones to create the illusion of depth, and define light and textures as realistically as possible. He used an abundance of colour, which he felt would dramatize his images, and applied the paint onto the canvas in thick layers in order to make the image more prominent. In order to accentuate the tones of his subjects in various lights, he used a wide range of flesh tones. He is known for painting human flesh in an expressive way, emphasizing the body’s curves and bumps, or how it looks when engaged in dynamic movement. …

Rembrandt’s life and painting techniques

by Rosily Roberts

… While the exact technique Rembrandt used when creating his impastoed surfaces is unknown, it is believed that he built up thick layers of opaque paint, allowing each layer to dry instead of mixing the paint on the surface while wet. After executing highlights in thick layers, he would wholly or partially over these with thin paint used as a glaze. …

Rembrandt’s mistress

by Rosily Roberts

… In 1641, a fourth child, Titus was born, and survived. However, Saskia was unwell after the birth. In 1642, she made a will leaving Rembrandt and Titus most of her fortune, with the stipulation that Rembrandt’s share would be lost if he ever remarried. She died shortly after, aged only 30, most likely from the plague or TB, and Rembrandt was left alone with a young baby to care for. …

… The tragedy that marked Rembrandt’s personal life never stopped him from painting however, and he continued to work up until his death.

Rembrandt’s finances

by Rosily Roberts

For the majority of his life, Rembrandt’s main source of income was private commissions for portraits. While Rembrandt did not keep records of his work shop sales, it is estimated by the Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam was around 340 guilders. This was the time when a skilled craftsman earned about 250 guilders a year.

He was also able to earn money as a teacher; it is known that he had around 50 pupils who paid him well for a year’s tuition. In addition to selling his own art, he acted as an art dealer, selling works by his pupils, as well as

Reynolds paint like the Old Masters techniques

Joshua Reynolds and his attempts to paint like the Old Masters

by Rosily Roberts

… He venerated the Old Masters for creating works which stood the test of time, and felt that no modern work could compete with such paintings. He noted the style and technique of many of the Renaissance masters, including Titian, Michelangelo, Tintoretto and Veronese, whose styles manifest themselves in his confident use of colour. He combined techniques such as chiaroscuro, the dramatic use of light and dark, and the classical contrapposto pose, in which the subject supports their weight on one leg. He worked to marry classical grace with naturalism, creating convincing, realistic portraits that retained a sense of poise and elegance. …

Life at its best—painting!

Artwork by Rachel Marsh

The opportunity to be enrolled in the Old Masters Academy is to have a dream to come true. I have been “hanging out” at the Old Masters academy website loving every bit of information being shared and am hungry for more.

I recently joined a local art guild to meet other artists and I am aware that need to “fill in the gaps of my present hobbyist/seat of my pants training” with professional instruction. Recently I attempted the old Flemish painting style…and it I had been hard to find complete information regarding materials, techniques, steps….and different artists seem to give conflicting information. …