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

Jiang Zhe bid farewell to Jacques and Chloe and came to London.

When he arrived in London, he contacted a Chinese who was familiar with graduate application business and came to visit the Royal College of Art.

Standing outside the college, the first impression is that this art school, which is often ranked first, is too simple compared to the grandeur of the Royal Academy of Music next door.

"The School of Art has four major colleges, namely the School of Architecture, the School of Communication, the School of Design, and the School of Arts and Humanities. Each major has different sub-disciplines." The Chinese who led Jiang Zhe on the tour had a foreign name - Jackson.

As he walked, he explained to Jiang Zhe:
“Design includes three fashion design majors: soft furnishing design, clothing design, and textile design. In addition, there are knitwear design, shoe last design, and accessories design. The visual communication major under the School of Communication is also divided into graphic design and illustration.

The college has three campuses, with free shuttle buses between the campuses. The School of Architecture is located in the most expensive campus, next to the famous Imperial College London. The West Campus mainly offers majors such as photography, painting and jewelry. The newest campus is a bit remote and includes animation majors, information experience design and visual communication of the School of Communication, as well as urban design and environmentally friendly buildings of the School of Architecture.

Jiang Zhe was indifferent to most design majors, but he didn't show it.

“The college is well-known for its strict admission and graduation requirements, but in recent years, the success rate of applications has improved compared to before.

The documents that students need to submit for application mainly include degree certificates, academic certificates, recommendation letters, portfolios and work statements. There are language requirements, which is a TOEFL score of 93, including a writing score of no less than . In terms of the portfolio, different majors have different requirements, but in general, this is a research-oriented academic institution, so it prefers works with depth and breadth. "

After visiting a studio, Jackson said: "It is difficult to recruit students for some unpopular majors. The school wants to support these majors, so you can consider such majors. Of course, the employment prospects of unpopular majors are uncertain.

You have to weigh that for yourself.”

Jiang Zhe expressed his gratitude for this suggestion. However, he did not need to consider employment issues and only wanted to choose a major that would help him improve himself.

"When studying here, the professors will give you the two-year study schedule, allowing you to control and plan your time as much as possible."

During the visit, Jiang Zhe slowly discovered some of the advantages of this place.

The courses are basically taught in small classes, and projects are often done in groups.

During the visit, we also saw cooperation between multiple disciplines.

Of course, there are also special features.

For example, when a graduate student is promoted from the first year to the second year, there will be an assessment, similar to a second interview, and only after passing it can he or she be promoted to the second year, so the pressure is not small.

Jiang Zhe also found that several colleges and universities he visited all emphasized the importance of valuing and respecting students' creativity.

The visit to the Royal Academy of Arts didn't take long.

After figuring out the doubts, Jiang Zhe and Jackson left the academy.

Jackson highly praised the Royal College of Art and suggested that Jiang Zhe make every effort to prepare for the application: "The three campuses are basically only half an hour away from the center of London, so studying here can also experience the authentic life in London."

Jiang Zhe expressed his gratitude to the other party and gave him a gift as usual.

After parting with Jackson, he planned to visit the art museum.

On the way to Trafalgar Square he thought of the several colleges he had visited.

To date, I have visited several well-known art colleges in the world.

The most impressive one is the Florence Academy of Fine Arts, followed by the Paris Academy of Fine Arts.

Of course, he still had to go to the United States to investigate before making a decision. As for the Royal Academy of Art, it was also very good, but Jiang Zhe felt that it was different from what he wanted.

If you come to the UK, you should visit the Art Gallery and the British Museum.

Arriving at the Royal Gallery, Chloe asked someone to help her make an appointment in advance, and Jiang Zhe entered the venue smoothly.

All the works here are exhibited in chronological order, and you can follow the suggestions given in the tour guide to visit without worrying about missing anything.

Jiang Zhe opened the system, collected information, and began the tour.

A work commissioned by King Richard II of England; a portrait of Governor Leonardo Loredan by Bellini; Botticelli's "Venus and Mars"...

Jiang Zhe looked at the paintings very quickly, and only stopped and looked at them carefully when he saw Michelangelo's work - The Entombment.

This is Michelangelo's unfinished work.

There are blank spaces in the rock gaps at the lower right and upper right corners of the painting. The painting depicts Jesus, who has just been taken down from the cross, being bandaged by Saint John in red and Joseph of Arimathea behind him and sent to be buried. Mary Magdalene is kneeling in the lower left corner.

The text description next to it indicates that there is a blank space in the painting, which is most likely reserved for the image of the Virgin Mary.

Jiang Zhe is very interested in this kind of unfinished work. He tries to put himself in the role of the painter and analyze his creative intention and process.

After seeing Michelangelo's work, I soon saw Leonardo da Vinci's work - Madonna of the Rocks.

Leonardo da Vinci created two Madonnas of the Rocks, both completed in Milan, Italy, one here at the National Gallery in the UK, and the other in the Louvre in Paris.

Now, Jiang Zhe has seen it all.

He recalled another work he had seen and compared the differences.

The two paintings were completed more than 20 years apart and have some minor differences. The angel's gestures, eyes and clothing are different, and the baby's hair and aperture are also different.

He used this work as a reference in his copying studies this semester. Now, as he studies against the original work, he has new feelings.

We continued walking forward and soon saw another masterpiece: The Arnolfini Wedding, a work by Jan van Eyck, who is known as the father of oil painting.

This painting often appears in various books and textbooks. Now, I finally see the original.

Jiang Zhe got as close to the picture as possible to observe the details.

In the painting, there is a round convex mirror on the wall behind the couple. The slightly distorted reflection in the mirror shows that there is no direct content in the picture.

Through the mirror, one can see the backs of the couple and the open window next to them, as well as the two figures the couple is facing.

The text next to it indicates that the one in red is a priest, and the one in blue is the painter himself.

The wall above the round mirror is inscribed in Latin, Jan van Eyck, 1434. Among the ten decorative motifs surrounding the mirror are stories of the Passion of Christ.

If you don't look carefully, you will really overlook these details.

In addition, the different textures of the objects in this painting are also almost perfect, including the fur of the puppy, the fur and velvet on the male owner, the wool on the veil and clothes of the hostess, crystal beads, and so on.

All in all, amazing.

Jiang Zhe once learned to copy this work. On the premise that his skills and perceptual creativity are constantly improving, by observing this work, he can already appreciate the secret of this painter.

(End of this chapter)