Classical Drawing Atelier: A Contemporary Guide to Traditional Studio Practice by Juliette Aristides

Classical Drawing Atelier: A Contemporary Guide to Traditional Studio Practice

Features

Cover Type: Hard Cover with 144 pages

Published by: Watson-Guptill October 13, 2006

Written in: English

ISBN 10 Number: 0823006573

ISBN 13 Number: 978-0823006571

Book Dimensions: 11.1 x 9.1 x 0.8 inches

Weighs: 2.2 pounds

Book Description
An atelier program between the covers of a book
* Serious techniques for the serious art student
* Study the work of the Old Masters and todays top realist artists
* In the tradition of Watson-Guptills classic Drawing Lessons from the Old Masters

Ateliers have produced the greatest artists of all time--and now that educational model is experiencing a renaissance. These studios, a return to classical art training, are based on the nineteenth-century model of teaching artists by pairing them with a master artist over a period of years. Students begin by copying masterworks, then gradually progress to painting as their skills develop. Classical Drawing Atelier is an atelier in a book--and the master is Juliette Aristides, a classically trained artist. On every page, Aristides uses the works of works of Old Masters and todays most respected realist artists to demonstrate and teach the principles of realist drawing and painting, taking students step by step through the learning curve yet allowing them to work at their own pace. Unique and inspiring, Classical Drawing Atelier is a serious art course for serious art students.

About The Author
Juliette Aristides, whose gorgeous art is featured throughout this book, is the founder and director of the Classical Atelier at the Seattle Academy of Fine Arts. She studied with realist master Jacob Collins and at the National Academy of Design and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. She lives in Seattle, Washington.

Reader Reviews
When I first came across this book on Amazon the name Juliette Aristides seemed familiar to me; when I discovered that I had seen her work at the John Pence gallery in San Francisco a while back I just had to buy her book. Besides, I've been a working artist for over a quarter of a century with a have a passion for realistic figure drawing and I often read "how to draw" books for pleasure. So I pre-ordered through Amazon and was delighted when the book arrived and I'm still delighted after having read it. In her introduction the author writes "This book was written with the aim of reintroducing basic or fundamental principles of art. The principles laid out in this book, when studied in both successful works of art and through exploratory exercise, will hone one's powers of observation, cultivate awareness of visual subtleties, foster discipline of both eye and hand, and build the skill and technique required to create strong, successful artwork of any style or genre." The principles Ms. Aritides espouses have their origins in Greek classicism which, after having inspired the Italian Renaissance, were then reinterpreted and codified into a systematic course of training and study by the French art academies of the 18th and 19th centuries.These methods were brought to the US by returning American students who had studied in the ateliers ("atelier" means a workshop or studio, especially an artist's studio) of French academicians and painters. With the birth of Modernism these principles fell into disrepute in modern art education. Ms. Aristides and other contemporary classic realists hope to reinvigorate these principles by reintroducing atelier training as an alternative art educational method to those methods now found in university art programs. The contemporary atelier movement hopes to do this by taking art training out of the classroom and returning it to the artist's studio. Concerning this she writes "Atelier instructors believe that combining direct observation from life with knowledge of historical skills will revitalize the arts of our times." As well as being a "how to" drawing guide this book doubles clearly as a manifesto of sorts. Not only does the book offer practical drawing instruction, it places these lessons in a historical, social, and philosophical framework. To me this gives the book a welcome depth one seldom finds in this sort of book. The book is divided into four parts and ten chapters. Part one: Welcome to the Atelier. This consists of one chapter titled "A historical perspective, artistic training in the Twenty-first Century" in which the author provides a brief, incisive overview of the history of the atelier movement's origins and history. Part two: TIMELESS PRINCIPLES has chapters 2 through 5. They are: 2. Design-Nature and the Golden Ratio; 3. Line: Two-dimensional Dynamics; 4. Value: The world in black and white; 5. Form: The third dimension. The chapter on the Golden Ratio may be tough going for the math challenged, but it's worth the slight effort required. I had no problem with the math, but some of the author's philosophical conclusions are dubious. She makes some suspect claims of a crypto-creationist nature linking an absurd Pythagorean mystical numerology and the Platonic notion of ideal forms to an underlying "creative intelligence" behind the concept of an ordered universe. These irritated my scientific materialism. Deduct one star. Part three: TIMELESS SUBJECTS presents chapter 6 through 9. They are: 6. Master copy drawing, learning from the past; 7. Cast drawing: lessons from master sculptors; 8.Figure drawing: man as the measure; 9. Portrait drawing: window to the soul. The subjects here are dealt with in historical and aesthetic terms. Part four: PUTTING THEORY INTO PRACTICE presents chapter 10: Atelier principles, Finite principles, Infinite applications. This chapter provides practical step by step instructions addressing sphere drawing, master copy drawing, cast drawing, reductive drawing, & portrait drawing. An appendix, bibliograpy, & index are included. The author writes in a clear and concise prose that illuminates her subject. Ms Aristides also has thoughtfully, in both senses of the word, peppered her book with quotes from other artistic luminaries. I read many art instruction books and I can't recall ever enjoying reading another as much as I enjoyed reading this one. Actually, I would claim that "Classical Drawing Atelier" is more of an art reference, art history, and/or art theory treatise than an art instruction book. This well designed and arranged book is lavishly illustrated with many reproductions not only of the author's drawings but with many fine examples drawn by historical and contemporary masters. The reproductions range from small captioned illustrations to large single page illustrations to illustrations that bleed to the page edge. These alone make the book worth owning. Add this fact to the author's detailed, systematic approach to improving one's drawing skills and factor in the bargain price Amazon is charging for the book, one has a very high value to cost ratio. . Comment (1) | | (Report this)

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Updated on 6-4-2008.