Location:

Monflanquin, France

Program Type:

Study Abroad

Degree Level:

Undergraduate

Term:

Fall Semester, Spring Semester, Summer

Program Overview

Program Description:

"TECHNIQUE MIXTE" PAINTING WORKSHOP a three month intensive painting course. Professor Gregory Pelizzari teaches an approach to painting known as the "technique mixte",which has its antecedents with the early Northern masters (Jan van Eyck). This technique employs a tempera underpainting over which oil colours are glazed,enabling the artist to achieve a profoundly intricate level of detail and greater luminosity of colour than oil paint alone can produce.

SYLLABUS Introduction of the "Technique Mixte" Discussion of materials and overview of the methodology. Preparation of the panel or canvas.; mixing gessos Students begin by drawing on the prepared ground with supplied pencils. Emphasis on draftsmanship: form, value, and detail. Subjects covered: Composition, perspective, scale and proportion, contour drawing and modeling by cross hatching, rendered shadows (chiaroscuro) Imprimatura : its role as a preparation for the lights Introduction to the preparation of emulsion: formula and use. Working up the lights: Using tempera emulsion and white pigment, the student will model the forms and define the value range, from highlights to cool middletones. Working up the darks: A similar process is used with umbers to continue the modeling process from dark to middletone. Introduction to glazing and scumbling: the application of transparent oil glazes over the neutral tempera "monochrome" begins. Working with the glazes: a judicious juxtaposition of temperatures, tints and tones to heighten spatial illusion. Complexities abound: but oh such fun....such marvelous, wonderful, miraculous painting fun to be discovered! Finishing : Final heightening with a range of nuances; the expanded palette. Review and analysis Discussion:the technique and its use by the contemporary artist.

The name "ATELIER NEO MEDICI" is significant. Its fundamental ideas and principles are based on those found in the Renaissance concept of an Atelier. As it was with the Renaissance, the Master-Student relationship here is very strong. Without impinging on the students' individuality, the Master imparts to them his knowledge of painting techniques. The importance of a disciplined and profound knowledge of painting techniques is greatly emphasized at the Atelier. The artists learn not only contemporary but also XV and XVI century techniques. They learn all aspects of their craft, from the maintenance of their equipment, to the different paints and tools, to a highly scientific analysis of light and of colour and the relationship between them.

Setting Description:

The main Atelier is located in Monflanquin in the South West of France. Set on a hill, the picturesque Monflanquin is the principal village of the local district. It is a well-preserved fortified village in Aquitaine. The Aquitaine region includes not only prehistoric caves, villages and rolling river valleys of the Dordogne and the Bordeaux vineyards, but also the rocky Pyrenees mountain chain, the Basque country with its beautiful beaches, the flat forest land of the Landes and the medieval castles and villages in the Lot-et-Garonne.