Old Masters Academy

How to paint like the Old Masters using modern materials

Old Masters Academy

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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.

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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. …

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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.

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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. …

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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. …

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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. …