Atelier Method
Encyclopedia
Atelier is the French
word for "workshop", and in English is used principally for the workshop of an artist in the fine or decorative arts, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students and apprentices worked together producing pieces that went out in the master's name. This was the standard way of working for European artists from the Middle Ages
to the 18th or 19th century, and common elsewhere in the world. In medieval Europe such a way of working was often enforced by local guild
regulations, of the painters' Guild of Saint Luke
if there was one, and those of other guilds for other crafts. Apprentices usually began young, at perhaps the age of twelve, working on simple tasks, and after some years became journeymen, before perhaps finally becoming a master themselves. The system was gradually replaced as the guilds declined, and the academy
became considered a superior method of training, although many artists continued in fact to use students and assistants, some paid by the artist, some paying fees to learn.
The current "Atelier method" is a form of fine art instruction modeled after the historic private art studio
s of Europe. An atelier consists of an artist
, usually a professional painter
or sculptor, working with a small number of students to train them in art. Atelier schools can be found around the world, particularly in North America
and Western Europe
.
Although the methods vary, most Ateliers train students in the skills and techniques associated with creating some form of representational art, the making of two-dimensional images that appear real to the viewer. They traditionally include sessions for drawing or to paint a painting of a nude model.
_-_before_the_bath_(1900).jpg)
Sight-Size is a method of drawing and painting an object exactly as it appears to the artist on a one to one scale. The artist first sets a vantage point where the subject and the drawing surface appear to be the same size. Then, using a variety of measuring tools -- which can include strings, sticks, mirrors, levels
, and plumb-bob
s -- the artist draws the subject so that, when viewed from the set vantage point, the drawing and the subject have exactly the same dimensions
. When properly done, sight-size drawing can result in extremely accurate and realistic drawings. It can also be used to draw the exact dimensions for a subject
in preparation for a painting.
Ateliers following the sight-size method generally agree that the practice of careful drawing
is the basis of painting
, teaching a form of realism
based upon careful observations of nature with attention to detail. Using this method, students progress through a series of tasks such as cast drawing, cast painting, drawing and painting from the live model, and still life. Students must complete each task to the instructor's satisfaction before progressing to the next. This system is referred to as "systematic progression" or "systematic teaching and learning."
Atelier students often begin this progression by drawing plaster casts. These casts are usually faces, hands, or other parts of the human anatomy
. Plaster casts provide some of the benefits of live, human models, such as the presence of natural
shadows. They also have their own distinct advantages: they remain perfectly still and their white color allows the student to focus on the pure, grayscale
tones of shadows.
One goal for sight-size students is to gain enough skill to transfer an accurate image to the paper or canvas without the aid of a mechanical device. Contemporary realist painter Adrian Gottlieb notes that "while professional painters pursuing a full-time career will develop an 'eye' that precludes the need for measuring devices and plumb lines (tools necessary during the training period), the observation method itself is not abandoned - instead it becomes second nature. Sight-size can be taught and applied in conjunction with a particular sensitivity to gesture to create life-like imagery; especially when applied to portraiture and figurative works."
Darren R. Rousar, former student of Richard Lack and Charles Cecil as well as the author of Cast Drawing Using the Sight-Size Approach, agrees and defines measuring in broad terms. He says that "a fully trained artist who uses Sight-size might never use a plumb line or even consciously think about literal measuring. He or she will strive toward achieving the same retinal impression in the painting as is seen in nature."
Charles H. Cecil, founder of Charles H. Cecil Studios, an atelier located in Florence Italy writes:
Art from Ateliers using the sight-size method is often reminiscent of Greek and Roman sculpture from classical antiquity
such as the Apollo Belvedere. Paintings may favor the visual imagery of the Neoclassical
art of the mid 18th to 19th century. The sight-size method also lends itself to styles of portraiture in which the artists desires an accurate, natural, true to life or even near photographic image of the sitter as is evident in the work of Bouguereau.
This is the method Jacob Collins, the Water Street Atelier, the Grand Central Academy and the Swedish Academy of Realist Art use.
In his essay, The Sight-size Method and its Disadvantages, the painter and instructor Hans-Peter Szameit, of the Swedish Academy of Realist Art discusses the disadvantages of sight-size, describing it as essentially the making of a mechanically produced image limited to one size, the "sight size."
Mr. Szameit also convincingly demonstrates that the sight-size method does not have deep historical roots. He explains that those claiming past masters used the sight-size method are incorrect, basing their claims on a misunderstanding of the definition of the sight-size method.
In one example, the Study for Mercury Descending by Peter Paul Rubens, Rubens has obscured the point where the legs attach to the torso. This is one factor that contributes to the ease in which he is able to successfully experiment with a variety of dramatically different leg placements. At least three sets of feet are visible. The viewer is not disturbed by an illogical attachment if the attachment is not visible and the resulting two-dimensional image is pleasing to the eye. This allows the artist to choose from a great number of very different alternatives, making his selection based on personal preference or aesthetics rather than accuracy. In the referenced exercise it is possible to experiment with numerous manipulations regarding the size and placement of each part of the body while at the same time using a collection of two-dimensional foreshortening illusions to retain the appearance of realism.
In addition to parts of the body, artists may rely on the manipulation of many other elements to achieve a successful illusion. These can include, the manipulation of color, value, edge characteristics, overlapping shapes and a number of different types of paint applications such as glazing
and scumbling. Work developed this way would not begin with a drawing, but rather the placement of all relevant elements necessary for the success of the illusions as well as the composition as a whole. Many of the illusions designed to mimic reality also speed the painting process, allowing artists more time to design and complete complex large scale works.
Individual students of this method study a diverse selection of old masters, although many begin their studies with the High Renaissance, Mannerist, Baroque, and Impressionist painters, including Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Rubens and Degas. However, because the emphasis is on creativity, it is often the design of the composition and the application and use of materials that is studied with less focus on reproducing a particular style or subject.
Students of these ateliers will therefore exhibit a wide range of personal styles and increasing amounts of creative experimentation. The result is a group whose art is highly individualized with each student pursuing their own individual interests. Notice the great diversity found at the Atelier of Léon Bonnat
(1846-1855). Bonnat "was a liberal teacher who stressed simplicity in art above high academic finish, as well as overall effect rather than detail." Some of Bonnat's more notable students include: Gustave Caillebotte
, Suzor-Coté, Georges Braque
, Thomas Eakins
, Raoul Dufy
, Marius Vasselon
, Fred Barnard
, Aloysius O'Kelly
, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
, and John Singer Sargent
.
As with sight-size and comparative measurement, this method requires the artist to constantly back up to view the work. The reason for this is demonstrated by a very successful illusion image created to look like Marilyn Monroe from a distance and Albert Einstein up close. Since images look entirely different at different distances, the artists backs up to view the work at the distance where the final picture will be viewed. If the work is large, constantly pacing back to a distance relatively far from the painting is crucial to the success of the work.
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
word for "workshop", and in English is used principally for the workshop of an artist in the fine or decorative arts, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students and apprentices worked together producing pieces that went out in the master's name. This was the standard way of working for European artists from the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
to the 18th or 19th century, and common elsewhere in the world. In medieval Europe such a way of working was often enforced by local guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
regulations, of the painters' Guild of Saint Luke
Guild of Saint Luke
The Guild of Saint Luke was the most common name for a city guild for painters and other artists in early modern Europe, especially in the Low Countries. They were named in honor of the Evangelist Luke, the patron saint of artists, who was identified by John of Damascus as having painted the...
if there was one, and those of other guilds for other crafts. Apprentices usually began young, at perhaps the age of twelve, working on simple tasks, and after some years became journeymen, before perhaps finally becoming a master themselves. The system was gradually replaced as the guilds declined, and the academy
Academy
An academy is an institution of higher learning, research, or honorary membership.The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 385 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and skill, north of Athens, Greece. In the western world academia is the...
became considered a superior method of training, although many artists continued in fact to use students and assistants, some paid by the artist, some paying fees to learn.
The current "Atelier method" is a form of fine art instruction modeled after the historic private art studio
Studio
A studio is an artist's or worker's workroom, or the catchall term for an artist and his or her employees who work within that studio. This can be for the purpose of architecture, painting, pottery , sculpture, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, radio or television...
s of Europe. An atelier consists of an artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, usually a professional painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
or sculptor, working with a small number of students to train them in art. Atelier schools can be found around the world, particularly in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
.
Although the methods vary, most Ateliers train students in the skills and techniques associated with creating some form of representational art, the making of two-dimensional images that appear real to the viewer. They traditionally include sessions for drawing or to paint a painting of a nude model.
Sight-Size
Sight-Size is a method of drawing and painting an object exactly as it appears to the artist on a one to one scale. The artist first sets a vantage point where the subject and the drawing surface appear to be the same size. Then, using a variety of measuring tools -- which can include strings, sticks, mirrors, levels
Spirit level
A spirit level or bubble level is an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface ishorizontal or vertical . Different types of spirit levels may be used by carpenters, stonemasons, bricklayers, other building trades workers, surveyors, millwrights and other metalworkers, and in some...
, and plumb-bob
Plumb-bob
A plumb-bob or a plummet is a weight, usually with a pointed tip on the bottom, that is suspended from a string and used as a vertical reference line, or plumb-line....
s -- the artist draws the subject so that, when viewed from the set vantage point, the drawing and the subject have exactly the same dimensions
Dimensions
Dimensions is a French project that makes educational movies about mathematics, focusing on spatial geometry. It uses POV-Ray to render some of the animations, and the films are release under a Creative Commons licence....
. When properly done, sight-size drawing can result in extremely accurate and realistic drawings. It can also be used to draw the exact dimensions for a subject
Subject
-Philosophy:*Hypokeimenon or subiectum, in metaphysics, the essential being of a thing**Subject , a being that has subjective experiences, subjective consciousness, or a relationship with another entity...
in preparation for a painting.
Ateliers following the sight-size method generally agree that the practice of careful drawing
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
is the basis of painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, teaching a form of realism
Realism (visual arts)
Realism in the visual arts is a style that depicts the actuality of what the eyes can see. The term is used in different senses in art history; it may mean the same as illusionism, the representation of subjects with visual mimesis or verisimilitude, or may mean an emphasis on the actuality of...
based upon careful observations of nature with attention to detail. Using this method, students progress through a series of tasks such as cast drawing, cast painting, drawing and painting from the live model, and still life. Students must complete each task to the instructor's satisfaction before progressing to the next. This system is referred to as "systematic progression" or "systematic teaching and learning."
Atelier students often begin this progression by drawing plaster casts. These casts are usually faces, hands, or other parts of the human anatomy
Human anatomy
Human anatomy is primarily the scientific study of the morphology of the human body. Anatomy is subdivided into gross anatomy and microscopic anatomy. Gross anatomy is the study of anatomical structures that can be seen by the naked eye...
. Plaster casts provide some of the benefits of live, human models, such as the presence of natural
Natural
Natural is an adjective that refers to Nature.Natural may refer too:In science and mathematics:* Natural transformation, category theory in mathematics* Natural foods...
shadows. They also have their own distinct advantages: they remain perfectly still and their white color allows the student to focus on the pure, grayscale
Grayscale
In photography and computing, a grayscale or greyscale digital image is an image in which the value of each pixel is a single sample, that is, it carries only intensity information...
tones of shadows.
One goal for sight-size students is to gain enough skill to transfer an accurate image to the paper or canvas without the aid of a mechanical device. Contemporary realist painter Adrian Gottlieb notes that "while professional painters pursuing a full-time career will develop an 'eye' that precludes the need for measuring devices and plumb lines (tools necessary during the training period), the observation method itself is not abandoned - instead it becomes second nature. Sight-size can be taught and applied in conjunction with a particular sensitivity to gesture to create life-like imagery; especially when applied to portraiture and figurative works."
Darren R. Rousar, former student of Richard Lack and Charles Cecil as well as the author of Cast Drawing Using the Sight-Size Approach, agrees and defines measuring in broad terms. He says that "a fully trained artist who uses Sight-size might never use a plumb line or even consciously think about literal measuring. He or she will strive toward achieving the same retinal impression in the painting as is seen in nature."
Charles H. Cecil, founder of Charles H. Cecil Studios, an atelier located in Florence Italy writes:
- Fundamental to the teaching is the practice of drawing and painting from life with no recourse to photography. The sight-size technique is taught at Charles H. Cecil Studios whereby subject and image are depicted to scale as seen from a given distance. When properly understood, sight-size is not a mere measuring technique, but a philosophy of seeing. The method was used by many of the finest painters in oil since the seventeenth century, including ReynoldsJoshua ReynoldsSir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA was an influential 18th-century English painter, specialising in portraits and promoting the "Grand Style" in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. He was one of the founders and first President of the Royal Academy...
, LawrenceThomas Lawrence (painter)Sir Thomas Lawrence RA FRS was a leading English portrait painter and president of the Royal Academy.Lawrence was a child prodigy. He was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was an innkeeper. At the age of ten, having moved to Bath, he was supporting his family with his...
and SargentJohn Singer SargentJohn Singer Sargent was an American artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era luxury. During his career, he created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings...
.
- In reviving the atelier tradition, R. H. Ives Gammell (1893-1981) adopted sight-size as the basis of his teaching method. He founded his studio on the precedent of private ateliers, such as those of Carolus-DuranCarolus-DuranCharles Auguste Émile Durand, known as Carolus-Duran , was a French painter and art instructor. He is noted for his stylish depictions of members of high society in Third Republic France.-Biography:...
and Léon BonnatLéon BonnatLéon Joseph Florentin Bonnat was a French painter.He was born in Bayonne, but from 1846 to 1853 he lived in Madrid, where his father owned a bookshop. While tending his father's shop, he copied engravings of works by the Old Masters, developing a passion for drawing...
. These French masters were accomplished sight-size portraitists who conveyed to their pupils a devotion to the art of VelázquezDiego VelázquezDiego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez was a Spanish painter who was the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV. He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary Baroque period, important as a portrait artist...
. It should be noted that Sargent was trained by both painters and that, in turn, his use of sight-size had a major influence in Great Britain and America.
- Charles Cecil is committed to the belief that the atelier tradition is invaluable for a renewal in figurative art...
Art from Ateliers using the sight-size method is often reminiscent of Greek and Roman sculpture from classical antiquity
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
such as the Apollo Belvedere. Paintings may favor the visual imagery of the Neoclassical
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
art of the mid 18th to 19th century. The sight-size method also lends itself to styles of portraiture in which the artists desires an accurate, natural, true to life or even near photographic image of the sitter as is evident in the work of Bouguereau.
Comparative Measurement
The comparative measurement method requires proportional accuracy, but allows the artist to vary the size of the image created. This technique broadly encompasses any method of drawing that involves making accurate measurements primarily using the naked eye. In the early training period students may be aided by a pencil, brush or plumb line to make comparisons, but there is no transfer of 1:1 measurements from subject directly to paper.This is the method Jacob Collins, the Water Street Atelier, the Grand Central Academy and the Swedish Academy of Realist Art use.
In his essay, The Sight-size Method and its Disadvantages, the painter and instructor Hans-Peter Szameit, of the Swedish Academy of Realist Art discusses the disadvantages of sight-size, describing it as essentially the making of a mechanically produced image limited to one size, the "sight size."
Mr. Szameit also convincingly demonstrates that the sight-size method does not have deep historical roots. He explains that those claiming past masters used the sight-size method are incorrect, basing their claims on a misunderstanding of the definition of the sight-size method.
Illusion
Another traditional Atelier method incorporates the use of illusions that fool the viewer into believing an image is accurate. This method is most often taught in conjunction with advanced compositional theory. Since it is not necessary to copy the subject accurately to achieve a successful illusion, this method allows the artist to experiment with many options while retaining what appears to be a realistic image.In one example, the Study for Mercury Descending by Peter Paul Rubens, Rubens has obscured the point where the legs attach to the torso. This is one factor that contributes to the ease in which he is able to successfully experiment with a variety of dramatically different leg placements. At least three sets of feet are visible. The viewer is not disturbed by an illogical attachment if the attachment is not visible and the resulting two-dimensional image is pleasing to the eye. This allows the artist to choose from a great number of very different alternatives, making his selection based on personal preference or aesthetics rather than accuracy. In the referenced exercise it is possible to experiment with numerous manipulations regarding the size and placement of each part of the body while at the same time using a collection of two-dimensional foreshortening illusions to retain the appearance of realism.
In addition to parts of the body, artists may rely on the manipulation of many other elements to achieve a successful illusion. These can include, the manipulation of color, value, edge characteristics, overlapping shapes and a number of different types of paint applications such as glazing
Glazing
Glazing, which derives from the Middle English for 'glass', is a part of a wall or window, made of glass. Glazing also describes the work done by a professional "glazier"...
and scumbling. Work developed this way would not begin with a drawing, but rather the placement of all relevant elements necessary for the success of the illusions as well as the composition as a whole. Many of the illusions designed to mimic reality also speed the painting process, allowing artists more time to design and complete complex large scale works.
Individual students of this method study a diverse selection of old masters, although many begin their studies with the High Renaissance, Mannerist, Baroque, and Impressionist painters, including Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Rubens and Degas. However, because the emphasis is on creativity, it is often the design of the composition and the application and use of materials that is studied with less focus on reproducing a particular style or subject.
Students of these ateliers will therefore exhibit a wide range of personal styles and increasing amounts of creative experimentation. The result is a group whose art is highly individualized with each student pursuing their own individual interests. Notice the great diversity found at the Atelier of Léon Bonnat
Léon Bonnat
Léon Joseph Florentin Bonnat was a French painter.He was born in Bayonne, but from 1846 to 1853 he lived in Madrid, where his father owned a bookshop. While tending his father's shop, he copied engravings of works by the Old Masters, developing a passion for drawing...
(1846-1855). Bonnat "was a liberal teacher who stressed simplicity in art above high academic finish, as well as overall effect rather than detail." Some of Bonnat's more notable students include: Gustave Caillebotte
Gustave Caillebotte
Gustave Caillebotte was a French painter, member and patron of the group of artists known as Impressionists, though he painted in a much more realistic manner than many other artists in the group...
, Suzor-Coté, Georges Braque
Georges Braque
Georges Braque[p] was a major 20th century French painter and sculptor who, along with Pablo Picasso, developed the art style known as Cubism.-Early Life:...
, Thomas Eakins
Thomas Eakins
Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins was an American realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator...
, Raoul Dufy
Raoul Dufy
Raoul Dufy[p] was a French Fauvist painter. He developed a colorful, decorative style that became fashionable for designs of ceramics and textiles, as well as decorative schemes for public buildings. He is noted for scenes of open-air social events...
, Marius Vasselon
Marius Vasselon
Marius Vasselon was a French painter. He was the son of the painter Edouard Vasselon and the brother of the painter Alice Vasselon. He would have been educated under Leon Bonnat and Dessurgey. His works consists mostly of landscapes painted on location, still lifes, murals, nudes and portraits...
, Fred Barnard
Fred Barnard
Frederick Barnard popularly known as Fred Barnard, was a Victorian illustrator, caricaturist and genre painter. He is noted for his work on the novels of Charles Dickens published between 1871 and 1879 by Chapman and Hall....
, Aloysius O'Kelly
Aloysius O'Kelly
Aloysius O'Kelly was an Irish painter.-Early life:Aloysius was the youngest of four boys and one girl to the Kelly family of Dublin. His grandparents on his father's side were natives of County Roscommon and his father ran a blacksmith's shop and dray making business in Peterson's Lane...
, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa or simply Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, and illustrator, whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of fin de siècle Paris yielded an œuvre of exciting, elegant and provocative images of the modern...
, and John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent was an American artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era luxury. During his career, he created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings...
.
As with sight-size and comparative measurement, this method requires the artist to constantly back up to view the work. The reason for this is demonstrated by a very successful illusion image created to look like Marilyn Monroe from a distance and Albert Einstein up close. Since images look entirely different at different distances, the artists backs up to view the work at the distance where the final picture will be viewed. If the work is large, constantly pacing back to a distance relatively far from the painting is crucial to the success of the work.
See also
- Art Students League of New YorkArt Students League of New YorkThe Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...
- New York Academy of ArtNew York Academy of ArtThe New York Academy of Art or the Graduate School of Figurative Art is an American private, not-for-profit art university, located at 111 Franklin Street in the Manhattan borough of New York City.-Foundation:...
- National Academy of DesignNational Academy of DesignThe National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, founded in New York City as the National Academy of Design – known simply as the "National Academy" – is an honorary association of American artists founded in 1825 by Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E...
- Art Renewal CenterArt Renewal CenterThe Art Renewal Center is an organization led by New Jersey millionaire, businessman, and art collector Fred Ross dedicated to the promotion of what it terms classical realism in art, as opposed to the Modernist developments of the twentieth century...