Realistic art of the 21st century, having assimilated the cumulative wisdom of preceding generations, rightfully asserts its status as a legitimate artistic medium. Art is not just about rules and techniques. It is a way of thinking, seeing and speaking. And our school is a place where you can master this language to express yourself in any form.
Whether you want to paint realistic portraits, build complex multi-layered compositions, work with color and spot, or create your own style, you will have all the tools to find your visual language. Our goal is not just to teach students to draw "like someone else", but to help them use painting as a tool to communicate ideas. We do not make imitators out of our students, but give them the freedom to speak the language of painting.
CONCEPT
The Objectives of the
Educational Program
Our key objective is to deliver a comprehensive and academically rigorous education rooted within the paradigm of the realist school of art, and to integrate the principles and methodologies of academic drawing and painting into the domain of modern and monumental art.
A key aspect of the program is the development of practical and material understanding. Through collaborations with established studios in Florence, students are introduced to monumental techniques such as fresco, mosaic, stained glass, tapestry, and sgraffito. This initiative aims to furnish students not only with theoretical knowledge but also with practical expertise in material execution.
Accademia Nuova actively supports public presentation of student work, fostering engagement and dialogue with the wider artistic community through collaboration with galleries.
Located in the geographical and cultural heart of Italy, the studio capitalizes on its proximity to major works from the Renaissance and other significant periods in European art history. The pedagogical framework is informed by a holistic appreciation of art across various periods, with a particular emphasis on the Renaissance era.
A central tenet of the educational ethos is the critical examination and reinterpretation of the legacies left by the old masters. By assimilating their techniques and methodologies, students endeavor to apply these lessons within the contemporary context of 21st-century art, all while meticulously adhering to the aesthetic conventions and cultural heritage of European artistic tradition.
OUR VISION
Analyzing realism through a contemporary lens presents inherent complexities. Simply put, are we focusing on static museum artefacts or contemporary artistic trends? Furthermore, are we engaging in an exploration of a historical tradition or probing the dynamics of creative expression as it unfolds now?
In today’s art world, contemporary art institutions define what is considered relevant, exclusively advocating for trends and practices validated by the global art community. Yet this raises an important question: is there not intellectual merit in exploring alternative perspectives that exist outside the conventional discourse?
There is a tendency to evaluate realism primarily as a method and a subject of art history, as opposed to contemplating the broader ontological principles governing how artists interface with reality.
Are we projecting our contemporary experiences onto the great works of the old masters, or are today’s figurative painters finding genuinely new approaches to representing modern life, independent of the historical themes and cultural ideals popularized by the great artists of the past? In broad conceptual terms, the artists' use of realistic language in contemporary practice gives rise to two recurring tendencies.
The first tendency arises from an audience’s preference for traditional stylistic ideals, those associated with Rembrandt, Sargent, or Caravaggio, prompting contemporary practitioners to satisfy a predefined expectation of what realism “should” look like. Yet this preference could be interpreted as a deeper aspiration for art that harks back to the perfected idealizations of the past embedded in our collective consciousness, and for the reassurance of an already legible visual order, rather than for a contemporaneously resonant artistic portrayal.
The second tendency proposes an alternative: realism as an arena for invention and new expressive approaches, aiming to articulate an authentic response to the present rather than reiterate inherited solutions. This endeavour requires the development of an original visual vocabulary instrumental in the embodiment of cognitive creativity and the realization of realism's inherent potential today.
At its core, artistic realism embodies a dynamic, evolutionary phenomenon. However, the attainment of such realism necessitates a profound grasp of painting techniques, fundamental artistic education, and an immersive engagement with the artistic legacies of bygone epochs.
Inquiring into the contemporary viability of realism leads us to consider whether art, as a conduit for truth and meaning, still fulfills a spiritual and intellectual necessity in our current era. Access to such pursuits requires immersion in realistic art as a discipline, facilitated by the diverse array of methodologies and approaches that have proliferated in the 21st century, all aimed at defining the foundational principles of realistic language within the context of an artistic education.
We’ve created an opportunity to explore not only one of the world’s most beautiful cities, but also your own unique way of seeing and absorbing it. Every weekend we spend time doing what we love: working en plein air and building bonds with people from around the world through our shared passion for art.
Painting, drawing and composition workshops in Florence, Italy. Here, under the guidance of experienced teachers, you will gain knowledge in realistic art.
International teaching staff with both classical academic and contemporary artistic backgrounds.
Classes are live, which provides a lively, open dialogue.