Reborn as a great painter, with a system, you can be willful

Jiang Zhe and Francesca took a taxi to the Florence Academy of Fine Arts.

When it comes to your own learning and development, there are many things you must understand personally.

Looking out the window, it felt like being in the Renaissance. Jiang Zhe intuitively felt the heritage of this city.

"This is one of the birthplaces of the Renaissance..." Francesca spontaneously introduced the city to Jiang Zhe. He especially hoped that Jiang Zhe could come to Italy to study, whether in Florence or Venice, and any art school he chose would be fine.

"The Florence Academy of Painting, the predecessor of the current Florence Academy of Fine Arts, is the oldest art academy in the world. It has had a profound influence on many art schools, including the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, the Repin Academy of Fine Arts in Russia, and the Royal Academy of Arts in the UK."

Listening to Francesca's words, Jiang Zhe was also imagining some of the scenes he might experience if he came here to study abroad.

"In this academy, I have just learned about Michelangelo, Titian, Raphael, Donatello, and Caravaggio. Now I can see the original works right after leaving the classroom. What a wonderful thing..."

Jiang Zhe nodded in agreement.

The taxi stopped.

After getting off the car, Jiang Zhe saw the entrance of the Florence Academy of Fine Arts and some people waiting outside the door.

The college gate is not as grand as imagined and retains its original appearance.

Francesca told Jiang Zhe that the college allows tourists to visit, but an appointment is required.

She had already made the contact in advance, and a staff member would take Jiang Zhe on a tour and give him an introduction.

That's the benefit of having someone to help you.

Shortly after Francesca made the call, a middle-aged man with curly brown hair and black-rimmed glasses walked out the door.

When he saw Francesca, he came over to greet her enthusiastically.

Francesca introduced the man and Jiang Zhe to each other.

The man's name is Angelo. He is in charge of publicity and admissions in the college and is very familiar with the study abroad affairs of international students.

After welcoming Jiang Zhe, he led the two into the academy.

After passing through the gate, the first thing you see is a nearly square courtyard.

There is a circle of corridors around the courtyard. The columns arranged in the corridors enhance the overall beauty of the building.

"The academy has been the best art academy for more than 450 years since its establishment." During the tour, Angelo noticed Jiang Zhe observing the architecture, and he proudly introduced to him the history and changes of the academy and architecture.

"From the 14th to the 16th century, Europe's social, economic and aesthetics were undergoing tremendous changes. The emergence of some talented masters allowed outstanding painters, architects and sculptors to get rid of the title of craftsmen and firmly occupy a place in society.

There were several great artists and a duke who were closely associated with the founding of the academy.

Giorgio Vasari was a painter, architect and writer. He is regarded as the pioneer of Western art history. The Lives of the Great Artists written by him recorded the life stories of artists including the three great masters of Renaissance art for the first time.

He was the initiator of the founding of the college.”

Jiang Zhe showed his surprise and curiosity in time. He thought that people need to find a track that suits them to succeed.

If Vasari had competed with the three great artists of the Renaissance in painting, he would never have stood out. However, when he took a different approach and used his expertise and convenient conditions to write a celebrity list that no one else had written at the time, he himself was also remembered.

His flattery made Angelo very proud and he became more talkative: "There was a monk named Borghini who, relying on his prestige, brought Vasari to propose to Cosimo I, Duke of Florence, to establish a painting academy.

It just so happened that Cosimo I was in urgent need of consolidating his position and influence in the fields of art and culture. The Florence territory he ruled was not an important military force, but the city was a veritable center of art and humanities for the whole of Europe.

The name of the Medici family has always been inseparable from their identity as guardians of the arts.

Finally, another key figure in the establishment of the painting academy was the famous Michelangelo.

In 1563, Michelangelo was already 88 years old. He had served six popes and had extraordinary artistic attainments in different fields such as architecture, painting, sculpture and poetry.

Vasari found his good friend Michelangelo and asked him if he would agree to call for and establish an academy for artists in his name.

Michelangelo agreed immediately and took on the important task of being the first dean.

Of course, some people have verified that Michelangelo was the honorary dean, and the real first dean was Vasari. "

While Jiang Zhe and the other man were listening to Angelo's explanation, they also followed him to stroll along the corridor and visit.

Angelo stopped and drew something with his hand, and said with longing in his eyes: "Under the dome of the San Luca Chapel, Vasari, Purchini, Cosimo I, Michelangelo and many painters, architects and sculptors gathered together to announce the official establishment of the Academy.

The members at that time also settled down here and began to immerse themselves in their own creations.

In the following years, they began to decorate the chapel and used it as the first site of the Florentine Academy of Painting. The chapel we see today is almost the same as it was after the renovation in 1550.

Jiang Zhe and the others were also moved by Angelo's eloquent commentary. Of course, the most important thing is that it is really well preserved.

After Angelo finished talking about the history of the college, he took the two of them to visit the teaching area.

"…This is the public classroom. Going forward is the sculpture department…"

Jiang Zhe followed Angelo along the somewhat narrow corridor, visiting one classroom or studio after another.

On the way, I often met teachers and students, or people who were also visiting. When I passed the cultural classroom, I could see students studying on their own, including students of different skin colors.

"This is the printmaking classroom... This is the sculpture classroom..."

Jiang Zhe looked at the facilities in the professional classroom, as well as some students who were working on their creations and some unfinished works.

The space is not big and it is a bit crowded after placing various professional tools and facilities.

Professional students have unique learning requirements. Every classroom is very quiet regardless of the number of people. Therefore, there is a unique order in the chaos and relaxation and freedom in the quietness.

Perhaps, this is the charm of a good professional classroom.

They passed by the pottery classroom and saw the professor and students in class.

When passing through a passage, I saw unfinished frescoes on the walls.

Angelo told Jiang Zhe that these were all homework assignments for students majoring in mural painting.

Jiang Zhe stopped and admired it carefully.

I acquired the technique of fresco painting from the system, and I knew that this painting technique was rather complicated and was by no means as simple as applying color on the wall.

Looking at the walls that seem to be under renovation and the unfinished works, one can tell that these students are still strictly following traditional techniques in painting murals.

Of course, from an aesthetic point of view, Jiang Zhe can see many problems with these works. But considering that these are routine and even high-level works by undergraduates, it can be said that each painting is very distinctive.

The three of them came to a classroom for graduate students.

Angelo knew that Jiang Zhe was going to pursue a master's degree, so he introduced the two-year graduate program in detail.

"The Florence Academy of Fine Arts has a long-standing and constantly innovative teaching system. Postgraduate studies focus on the cultivation of modern and contemporary culture from the end of the 20th century to the present. Here, you will see that some students choose ancient traditional skills that are almost lost, while others choose contemporary art and use high-tech equipment. It all depends on your personal preferences and expertise..."

Angelo told Jiang Zhe that the majors he could apply for include: visual arts and new language expression (including painting, sculpture, printmaking, etc.), stage design, cultural relics restoration and curation, art education, etc.

Then, he introduced the admission requirements for graduate students, such as language requirements, professional test requirements, time arrangements and other details.

Through previous conversations, Angelo judged that Jiang Zhe should have no problem with his language. He also knew the honors Jiang Zhe had won and the current selling price of his works. He believed that Jiang Zhe should have no problem passing the entrance examination, but he still reminded him of what preparations he needed to make for the examination.

After Jiang Zhe remembered all the details, he thanked Angelo again.

When seeing the two off, Angelo also described the advantages of the Academy to Jiang Zhe.

“Here, you can touch history at any time, so the school requires every student to go out of the campus, out of the studio, to breathe the artistic atmosphere from this city, and to communicate with the culture originating from this city.

We would advise students not to worry that wandering around will interfere with their studies, because the insights and knowledge gained in your own city can be applied to practice.

Dozens of art galleries and well-known art institutions are enough to provide a sufficient source of knowledge to give full play to your creativity and imagination. "

The three of them chatted and slowly walked back to the entrance of the academy.

Jiang Zhe thanked Angelo and shook hands to say goodbye.

Francesca quietly handed over the small gifts they had brought.

Angelo watched the two leave and returned to the office to distribute the small gifts to his colleagues.

"What friends did you receive today?" a colleague asked.

Angelo briefly introduced Jiang Zhe's situation.

The colleague thought for a moment and said, "I know him. His work was exhibited at the Biennale and won an award. Will he come to study for a master's degree?"

"Maybe," Angelo replied.

"I don't quite understand why he wants to study for a master's degree." Several colleagues expressed their incomprehension.

Normally, most students who come to study for a master's degree, no matter if they have ideals or purposes, cannot achieve Jiang Zhe's current results.

Therefore, some people find it difficult to understand why Jiang Zhe continued to pursue graduate studies after achieving a certain degree of success.

On the other side, Jiang Zhe and Francesca took a car back to their accommodation.

Francesca asked, "After seeing the college, are you interested?"

Jiang Zhe nodded: "Yes."

Although the visit was not long, the college left him with a very good first impression.

He even imagined what it would be like to study here for two years.

However, you need to examine other goals before deciding.

(End of this chapter)