Judith Couchman ~ Living with Purpose & Passion
  • About Judith
  • Enduring Books
  • Free Resources
  • Contact Judith

The Art of Faith 
 Exploring Sacred Images
Scroll down to read the blog.

xx

Visit the Living on Purpose Blog

5 ~ Learn, Learn, Learn

8/16/2012

3 Comments

 
Picture
Every painting is a voyage into a sacred harbour.
                                                                                                  --Giotto di Bondone

Giorgio Vasari, a Renaissance painter and historian, recalled how the painter Luca Signorelli advised his father.


“Antonio, have little Giorgio learn to draw at any rate so that he will not get even worse,” advised Signorelli. “This art, even if he applied himself to his literary studies, cannot fail to provide him with the same profit, honour, and delight it has provided to all worthy men.”

Then turning to the young Vasari, the old artist said, “Learn, little cousin, learn.”

As with all artists, young Renaissance painters studied technique through apprenticeships with older, experienced painters. They also learned by copying the great artists and reading a limited number of treatises written about art. For example, in the Middle Ages the monk Theophilus wrote On Divers Arts: The Foremost Medieval Treatise on Painting, Glassmaking, and Metalwork. During the Renaissance the painter Leon Battista Alberti wrote a manuscript, On Painting. As an adult, Vasari chronicled the lives of painters, sculptors, and architects, with insights to their working lives and methods.

With all the arts—painting, dancing, writing, weaving—successful practitioners begin with the basics. Devoting time and discipline to enduring techniques rewards later work. Skipping this step eventually degrades it.


3 Comments

    Get The Art of Faith
    blog postings by email.
    Sign up below.

    judith@judithcouchman.com

    RSS Feed


    Picture

    Blog Author

    Judith Couchman is an author, speaker, and college art-history instructor. Her recent book release is The Art of Faith: A Guide to Understanding Christian Images (Paraclete Press). Scroll down to view the book cover and video trailer.


    Archives

    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012

    Categories

    All
    Art Techniques
    Christ's Face
    Cross Images
    Early Christian Art
    Early Christian Artists
    Eastern (Byzantine) Christian Art
    Florence Cathedral
    Icons
    Illuminated Manuscripts
    Michelangelo
    Mosaics
    Painting
    Power Of Images
    Reformation
    Santa Costanza
    Sculpture
    Trinity
    Working With Our Hands


    A Sampling of Books
    by Judith Couchman


    Picture
    The Art of Faith: A Guide to Understanding Christian Images by Judith Couchman. Click on the photo to purchase the book through Paraclete Press.
    Picture
    The Mystery of the Cross by Judith Couchman. Inspirational readings about images of Christ's cross and how early believers used and respected this sign. Click on the photo to purchase from InterVarsity Press.
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.