Learning from Old Masters

Making a copy of a painting that you admire is a wonderful way to learn about another artist, and to develop skills and individuality as a painter.  Much can be learned about mixing colour, paint application, compositional choices, and the personal art-making process in making a copy of a painting that moves you.

Below are Instructor, Eric Mannella’s, copy of Caravaggio’s ‘Torment of Christ’ of 1602 / 1604, and Alma-Tadema’s painting, ‘Ask me no more.’ from 1906.

At Atelier de Brésoles, we also offer courses in:

Historical Techniques of Painting

A course focusing on painting materials and their traditional usage. Students complete a copy of an old master painting using an appropriate palette. By working through the necessary stages of their painting, from underdrawing to glaze, students learn advanced techniques that they may apply to their own work.

Historical Technicals of Drawing

In this course we examine master drawings to learn different approaches to mark-making, using a variety of traditional materials: silverpoint, natural chalk, pen & ink, and mixed media. Students have the opportunity to work from the Atelier’s collection of historical prints and drawings.