Working directly with distinguished Florentine artists in studio and conservatory settings, students studying the arts expand their knowledge and expertise through a combination of research, technical training and creative projects. Exposure to libraries, museums and private collections enhances this work.

Art on Paper

This course is designed for students with an interest in drawing, painting and etching/print-making. Studio time and site visits offer opportunities to explore different facets of the visual arts such as still-life, figure-drawing, and self-portrait. One-on-one sessions with instructor help students monitor personal growth and develop strength. Students keep a sketchbook with daily entries and work on more detailed and specific projects in the studio. In the second semester focus shifts to print-making/etching, culminating in an individual project to be displayed at Sarah Lawrence's year-end exhibition.

Sculpture

Students will work individually with the artist to explore the facets of three-dimensional art and develop a creative process appropriate for their own personal expression. A variety of materials will be utilized.

Photography

Using fundamental black and white exposing and developing techniques, students discover their own visual language. Topics of discussion will include “distance to subjects,” relationship between moving and still elements, the sense of place and portraiture. Students with a background in photography will be directed in individual projects. All students must have completed a year of photography to be eligible for this course.

Art Restoration (an Arts elective)

The course offers the student a solid understanding of the artistic techniques typical of the TuscanFlorentine ambient, in particular referring to the period from the 14th century through the Renaissance: physical and chemical composition of objects relative to each of the techniques treated, the historical evolution and development of these techniques, their conservation and restoration, including scientific methods of diagnosis and examination of works of art. The course concentrates on painting (fresco and other types of wall painting during the first trimester, painting on wood panel during the second, and on canvas during the third); other techniques (objects made of wood, stone, metal, paper, parchment, etc.) will be studied in a more general form, emphasizing the fundamental guidelines and approach to their understanding and treatment, method which the student will be expected to use as a basis for his individual research project. Specific questions regarding either the techniques treated in class or other techniques chosen according to individual interests will be investigated more thoroughly by each student in a research project, to be presented in oral and written form at the end of each semester. A written take-home essay aimed at verifying the students’ grasp of the course material will be held midterm.

The course is structured so as to emphasize interaction between theoretical information and practical experience, especially regarding materials and methods. This is achieved through alternating lectures and site visits with studio exercises, combined with guided readings, visual aids (slides, videos, etc.) and discussions. A further aim of the study is the acquisition of specific technical terminology both in English and Italian.

Lessons in the studio will involve each of the students in a personal project, through the realization of a simple example derived from a l4th/l5th century original, for each of the basic techniques treated. The purpose of this project is to familiarize the student with the structure and material composition of the works of art, fundamental for the comprehension of phenomena of deterioration and damage and subsequent restoration.

Laboratory lessons will also include direct contact with various works of art in restoration, with the possibility to observe and discuss with the restorers the operations in course, including preparation of materials, relining of canvas paintings, consolidation, cleaning, in-painting, varnishing, etc. When possible, the students will participate directly in certain of the basic operations, in order to gain familiarity with the tools and methods involved, as well as to form a correct awareness of the critical approach required for modern conservation.

Music

Qualified students with a background in music may elect to study music as one-third of their program. The highly regarded music program offers conservatory study at all levels. Music students take private lessons in voice or an instrument, and study solfege, theory and composition at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole and the Scuola di Musica di Sesto Fiorentino (classical) or the Scuola di Musica di Scandicci (jazz). Students may also join a performance group. For more about studying music in Florence, see International Programs in Music  

"Nowhere else is nature so subtle, elegant and fine.
The god who made the hills of Florence was an artist." —Anatole France