The Florence Academy of Art

Art History Lecture w/ Jason Arkles - Andrea del Verrocchio ⚜️ A few months ago, sculptor and art historian Jason Arkles delivered the first part of a lecture series discussing the evolution of composition through the history of figurative sculpture. In this video art history lecture, we explore the early Renaissance advances in sculpture at the hands of Andrea del Verrocchio, diving into the earliest multi-figural works of the Renaissance and the push toward sculpture as a representation of human experience. Don’t miss this fascinating lecture available now on our Patreon!

Follow us on Patreon and  to find out more about our community of artists and gain access to FREE content! For access to this lecture and the rest of the exclusive content available through The FAA Collective become a supporter at 🔗 www.patreon.com/thefaacollective

Image: Andrea del Verrocchio’s “David” ca. 1466-69

A portrait painting by recent FAA / Sweden gradaute Saga Andersson while a student in the Advanced Painting program ⚜️

Recent graduates Jidai Izumitani and Cameron Marsh at work on a portrait painting from life while they were students in the Advanced Painting program ⚜️

Photos: Schmoo Theune

A portrait drawing in charcoal and white chalk by FAA Intermediate Painting program student Andrea Kirlieva. This drawing is to the scale of life, and drawn from life ⚜️

Every July the FAA Summer Faculty exhibit a collection of work in the FAA Gallery! It is always a fantastic opportunity for the summer students to see the artworks of their instructors and discuss how the methods they are learning can be applied to works outside of an academic setting! Thank you to all who attended the exhibition and to our faculty for providing such wonderful works to show! ⚜️

A special thank you to FAA Principal Instructor Tanvi Pathare for once again organizing such a successful exhibition!

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A still-life painting by recent FAA graduate Indigo Randolph Gray, made from life while a student in the Advanced Painting program ⚜️

FAA Graduates in Residence for the 2023-2024 academic year Matteo Persiani (left) and Lukas Freudenberg (right) at work on large-scale figurative paintings from life in their studio at the FAA campus! ⚜️ .art

Photo: Elizabeth Ralph-Smith .k.fineart

A figure painting by recent FAA graduate Erdenbulgan Unubaatar, made from life in oils while a student in the FAA’s Advanced Painting program ⚜️ This painting was awarded Best Figure Painting for the Advanced Painting program in our 2024 End of Year Ceremony ⚜️

⚜️ Available for FREE on the FAA Collective on Patreon: A feature on FAA graduate Poppy Field’s public sculpture commission of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh for the Royal Albert Hall ⚜️

“Having an authentic passion might just be what sets your work apart. So, I think it’s really important to know and celebrate what you bring to the table. This commission allowed me to combine my fascination with collective memory with my love for research and need for creativity. Declarations cast in bronze are not made permanent by their medium, and there exists a highly contentious space between public desire for commemoration and actual monuments that have validated particular political, historical, cultural, and social perspectives.” – Poppy Field, .field

To read more about this exciting public work commission and the process behind it please visit 🔗 www.patreon.com/thefaacollective

A life-size portrait sculpture in clay by recent FAA graduate Kevin A. Urban, made as a student in the Advanced Sculpture program ⚜️

Continuing an exciting collaboration with the Virtuoso & Belcanto Festival, we hosted a Piano Recital by Anthony Ratinov in the Main Gallery at the Florence Academy of Art! ⚜️ Many thanks to and .ratinov for such a beautiful event!

The final project, a life-size portrait including the hands, made entirely from life, by recent FAA graduate Emma Sellers while a student in the Advanced Painting program ⚜️
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A couple of group photos of our 2023-2024 Certificate Sculpture Program including our faculty and teaching assistants from the Graduates in Residence program! We’re looking forward to another great year in the fall! ⚜️
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A detail of a figurative oil painting by FAA graduate and former Director of the Intermediate Painting program, Daniela Astone ⚜️
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Recent Graduates Joshua Cooper (left) and Valentin Benner (right) at work on their final projects, a life-size portrait including hands, made entirely from life, while students in the Advanced Painting program ⚜️ .art
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A self-portrait by recent graduate Madeleine Payne while a student in the Advanced Painting program, made from life using a mirror ⚜️ ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

A self-portrait by recent graduate Madeleine Payne while a student in the Advanced Painting program, made from life using a mirror ⚜️ ​​​​​​​​
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We are very excited to introduce this accomplished cohort of graduates from our full-time painting and sculpting programs, our new Graduates in Residence for the 2024-2025 academic year! Each artist selected for this program has shown exceptional talent and dedication to their studies, and brings a unique artistic vision to the FAA community, where they can continue to refine their skills, explore new horizons, and inspire one another. As Graduates in Residence, they are granted access to studio spaces where they can continue learning, creating new work, and building their portfolios, all while gaining invaluable experience as assistant instructors.
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⚜️ 2024-2025 Graduates in Residence ⚜️ (left to right):
Gabriel Akre, Sculpture
Fleur Stebis, Painting
Cameron Marsh, Painting
Giuseppe de Palma, Painting
Isabelle Weir, Painting
Andrea Jimenez Carrasquillo, Sculpture

A still life painting by Advanced Painting student at The Florence Academy of Art / Sweden, Daiki Yamada ⚜️
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A collection of exceptional student figure paintings from the Intermediate Painting program (second year) on display in our 2024 End of Year Open Studio! This event is always a fantastic opportunity for friends, family and guests to see the works produced by students from the Drawing and Painting programs from throughout the academic year! ⚜️
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A figure sculpture by FAA Advanced Sculpture student Paz Esteban, made 3/4 to the scale of life, from life in clay ⚜️
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A few selected moments from our July Summer Workshops! It was such a wonderful month, opening our campus to over 100 Summer Workshop students again this year! ⚜️ We do hold courses that take place throughout the year as well, so if you’re interested in studying with us at the Florence Academy of Art please visit 🔗 www.florenceacademyofart.edu/all-workshops ⚜️

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A figure drawing made with charcoal and white chalk, from life, by Advanced Sculpture student Avi Yosfan ⚜️

Inside our Etching Workshop Exhibition! We had a fantastic evening showcasing the best works that our inaugural group of students made while taking our “Etching: Masters of Line” workshop with Daniel Graves, FAA Founder. We also had in-depth demonstrations of the entire process behind the medium, including demos on printing and more in our studios with Principal Instructor Matteo Taverna and a detailed display explaining the entire process of creating an etching! ⚜️

Thank you to everyone who attended!

⚜️Join us this September for our next etching workshop. To learn more and register for the course, please visit 🔗 www.florenceacademyofart.edu/workshops/etching ⚜️

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A portrait by Richard Greathouse, Director of the FAA’s MA in Studio Art program! ⚜️

Intermediate Painting students Silvia de Arcangelis (left) and Gabriel Eekenulv (right) at work on life-size portrait drawings from life in charcoal ⚜️

Photos: Elizabeth Ralph-Smith .k.fineart

A still life painting by recent graduate Isabelle Weir made in the Advanced Painting program at the FAA. Issie will be continuing on at the academy as a Painting Graduate in Residence beginning in the new academic year! ⚜️

⚜️Congratulations to the Class of 2024!⚜️ The Florence Academy of Art is very proud to celebrate and recognize our second class of graduates from our Master of Arts in Studio Art degree program. At our ceremony in Florence we were joined by many friends, family, and the FAA Community to honor our graduates and their profound achievement!
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The FAA MA in Studio Art program was designed primarily to empower educators and train art teachers, and our 21 new graduates are now part of the bridge connecting the methodology used by figurative masters of the past to the next generation of artists. We wish our graduates much success in their future endeavors and look forward to their forthcoming accomplishments!
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Class of 2024:
Betsy Avila
Carolyn Benjamin
Paula Cardi
Katherine Cook
Erika Demetriou
Athina Gatos Hunter
Tiana Goosen
Jordan Graves
Nicola Jackson
Olutoyin Laoshe
Luke Medlock
Michael Minor
Gregory Mortenson
Emily Odom
Colleen Pogue
Kelly Ratcliff
Jonathan Saenz
Eric Santoli
Elizabeth Tucker
Arwa Turra
D’Arcy Wills

A project from the Advanced Sculpture program- a life-sized “portrait with hands” in clay by recent FAA graduate Dan Russell ⚜️

Moments from our recent workshop “Masters of Line” on copper-plate line-etching with FAA Founder and master etcher Daniel Graves ! A major objective of the course is for students to learn how to transform their drawings made from life into the medium of etching- with days for drawing from life built into the curriculum- both outside drawing the natural and urban landscapes of Florence, or working directly from a model! ⚜️

⚜️Join us this September for our next etching workshop. To learn more and register for the course, please visit 🔗 www.florenceacademyofart.edu/workshops/etching ⚜️


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