What do you think?
Rate this book
Classical Painting Atelier: A Contemporary Guide to Traditional Studio Practice
Want to paint more like Manet and less like Jackson Pollock?
Students of art hailed Classical Drawing Atelier , Juliette Aristides’s first book, as a dynamic return to the atelier educational model. Ateliers, popular in the nineteenth century, teach emerging artists by pairing them with a master artist over a period of years. The educational process begins as students copy masterworks, then gradually progress to painting as their skills develop. The many artists at every level who learned from Classical Drawing Atelier have been clamoring for more of this sophisticated approach to teaching and learning. In Classical Painting Atelier, Aristides, a leader in the atelier movement, takes students step-by-step through the finest works of Old Masters and today’s most respected realist artists to reveal the principles of creating full-color realist still lifes, portraits, and figure paintings. Rich in tradition, yet practical for today’s artists, Classical Painting Atelier is ideal for serious art students seeking a timeless visual education.
Students of art hailed Classical Drawing Atelier , Juliette Aristides’s first book, as a dynamic return to the atelier educational model. Ateliers, popular in the nineteenth century, teach emerging artists by pairing them with a master artist over a period of years. The educational process begins as students copy masterworks, then gradually progress to painting as their skills develop. The many artists at every level who learned from Classical Drawing Atelier have been clamoring for more of this sophisticated approach to teaching and learning. In Classical Painting Atelier, Aristides, a leader in the atelier movement, takes students step-by-step through the finest works of Old Masters and today’s most respected realist artists to reveal the principles of creating full-color realist still lifes, portraits, and figure paintings. Rich in tradition, yet practical for today’s artists, Classical Painting Atelier is ideal for serious art students seeking a timeless visual education.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2007
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
January 5, 2013
I bought this book because I liked a book on classical drawing ("Classical Drawing Atelier - A complete course in traditional studio practice") by the same author. The book on drawing was actually very informative - not only did it cover theory of drawing and provide detailed examples for the various concepts/techniques, but it also had videos in which the author herself and other artists demonstrated those techniques. I was hoping something similar here, but no such luck.
Don't get me wrong, Juliette is not only a very good artist, but she's also a very good teacher. She actually belongs to the rare breed of artists who actually know how they do what they do - as opposed to the majority of other artists who just seem to "do it" and hence don't know how to teach their techniques very well. In this book, she has very very good sections on composition and reasonably informative sections in color harmony. But beyond that its just a lot of almost useless information if you are looking for a solid book on painting. There is some art history in there, there are paintings by various artists from past and present, there are paragraphs upon paragraphs on why the atelier teaching practices work....but not a lot of actually usable information on how to go about painting. Can't blame her though, because the book IS indeed on the drawing practices followed in ateliers and why they're supposed to be better - if that's what you were going for, then this is the book for you.
Now let me give some concrete examples of what I'm talking about. One of the things that comes up early in books on painting is the importance of doing warm and cool studies. Cool neutrals recede and warm ones come forward - that means you can create convincing form in your painting simply by learning the application of this concept. Once you have it figured out, you can replace the neutrals with whatever colors you like and...bang you have a painting. Needless to say, the importance of this concept can't be overstated. But what does Juliette teach you about it? Well, pretty much what I said about it here plus a finished painting where someone applied. Yes, that's it. No step by step demonstration, no information on how to actually apply the colors, nothing that you can actually refer to when you actually get down to it. But let's take a step back - what does Juliette teach about exactly how to learn to paint. Well, she tells you that using colors can be difficult and trying to do so in a new medium (paint vs graphit/charcoal) would be even more so, so just start with monochromatic paintings first....and....well that's about it. Fast forward to portrait/figure painting - which happens to my favorite subject - all that you're gonna get are a bunch of portraits done by various artists and how Juliette feels about them. That's it.
So, you can see what I meant by a lack of any concrete information on the process/techniques of painting itself. This is not an isolated case though, majority of books out there suffer from the same problem. Artists seem to know how to teach drawing, but not painting....probably because they learned to paint mostly by trial and error themselves. Aside from that, the whole thing about how-they-do-it-in-ateliers and why that's the best way to do gets old after a while. I mean I understand that the book is about atelier methods, but I don't necessarily believe that how they used to do things hundreds of years ago and thousands of miles away actually is the best way. It might be, it might not be. But they did the best they could back then with the resources they had...and we should do the same instead of trying pretty hard to justify their methods for today's use. But the book is about atelier practices so no complaints. Bottom line, if you want a book on how-to-paint, there are a lot of better books out there. But if you want a book on atelier's practices, tidbits on art history, some good info on composition, and a few pointers on painting, then go for it.
Don't get me wrong, Juliette is not only a very good artist, but she's also a very good teacher. She actually belongs to the rare breed of artists who actually know how they do what they do - as opposed to the majority of other artists who just seem to "do it" and hence don't know how to teach their techniques very well. In this book, she has very very good sections on composition and reasonably informative sections in color harmony. But beyond that its just a lot of almost useless information if you are looking for a solid book on painting. There is some art history in there, there are paintings by various artists from past and present, there are paragraphs upon paragraphs on why the atelier teaching practices work....but not a lot of actually usable information on how to go about painting. Can't blame her though, because the book IS indeed on the drawing practices followed in ateliers and why they're supposed to be better - if that's what you were going for, then this is the book for you.
Now let me give some concrete examples of what I'm talking about. One of the things that comes up early in books on painting is the importance of doing warm and cool studies. Cool neutrals recede and warm ones come forward - that means you can create convincing form in your painting simply by learning the application of this concept. Once you have it figured out, you can replace the neutrals with whatever colors you like and...bang you have a painting. Needless to say, the importance of this concept can't be overstated. But what does Juliette teach you about it? Well, pretty much what I said about it here plus a finished painting where someone applied. Yes, that's it. No step by step demonstration, no information on how to actually apply the colors, nothing that you can actually refer to when you actually get down to it. But let's take a step back - what does Juliette teach about exactly how to learn to paint. Well, she tells you that using colors can be difficult and trying to do so in a new medium (paint vs graphit/charcoal) would be even more so, so just start with monochromatic paintings first....and....well that's about it. Fast forward to portrait/figure painting - which happens to my favorite subject - all that you're gonna get are a bunch of portraits done by various artists and how Juliette feels about them. That's it.
So, you can see what I meant by a lack of any concrete information on the process/techniques of painting itself. This is not an isolated case though, majority of books out there suffer from the same problem. Artists seem to know how to teach drawing, but not painting....probably because they learned to paint mostly by trial and error themselves. Aside from that, the whole thing about how-they-do-it-in-ateliers and why that's the best way to do gets old after a while. I mean I understand that the book is about atelier methods, but I don't necessarily believe that how they used to do things hundreds of years ago and thousands of miles away actually is the best way. It might be, it might not be. But they did the best they could back then with the resources they had...and we should do the same instead of trying pretty hard to justify their methods for today's use. But the book is about atelier practices so no complaints. Bottom line, if you want a book on how-to-paint, there are a lot of better books out there. But if you want a book on atelier's practices, tidbits on art history, some good info on composition, and a few pointers on painting, then go for it.
January 11, 2009
Classical Painting Atelier
might be the best book about painting I've ever seen. It combines art history, technique, how-to, and inspiration, and manages to do all of those things extremely well. The text offers fairly in-depth descriptions and instruction of classical/traditional approaches and techniques, but is very readable and interesting, which isn't always true for a book like this. But even if you didn't read the text, every page has beautiful prints of paintings -- old masters side-by-side with present day painters. So just looking at the pictures makes my fingers itch to pick up a brush. Another excellent feature is the step-by-step "lessons" on basic painting exercises interspersed between chapters.
Highly recommended for any artist, painter, art historian, or anyone interested in traditional/classical art.
Highly recommended for any artist, painter, art historian, or anyone interested in traditional/classical art.
July 28, 2015
Painting over the centuries has evolved from a craft using ground minerals with copying tools-- to a secretive art of methods on canvas -- through to today where there are many splinters and schools of thought using a wealth of digital and manual tools. There were very few good books describing painting methods until today's "Atelier" movement. Ateliers provide 1-on-1 teaching much like that provided in historic guilds—the MOOCs of the art scene. Aristides describes how to paint with oil traditionally, in detail. It may be overly wordy, in this age of videos. I could only judge this when I read the color chapter (chapter 4), where every nuance was described -- things some people learn just by smushing paint and holding it up to the subject. This is so different from the last generation of painting where the method of painting was less verbal, and advancement was tied to universities. After I understood this book's approach I loved the historic examples used to explain hue, value, and pre-painting sketching. Aristides is very good when comparing the contemporary "alla prima" approach to painting with the more historic Flemish and Venetian methods. Aristides is a painting instructor based in Seattle.
June 23, 2016
Juliette Aristides both have excellent writer 's imagination where this great book that hooks you
June 5, 2022
I gave this a quick flip through. The art of painting is not easy to master- even, if the basic principles, are on some level not difficult to grasp. This is a part of a process, for me, to understand painting, watercolors, oil + acrylic. Recommended.
December 7, 2017
This one should be in any serious oil painter's reference collection.
December 30, 2017
This is the best book on technique available.
April 18, 2019
Very good guide
July 21, 2023
ANOTHER GREAT BOOK BY JULIETTE ARISTIDES
I can't say enough about JULIETTE Aristides books. The more of her books that I read, the more I learn about art.
I can't say enough about JULIETTE Aristides books. The more of her books that I read, the more I learn about art.
November 18, 2016
This book is easily a favourite, coming as it does from the reaction to the impressionist and modernist developments in the history of art. The author's work returns to the classical foundations of drawing and painting of antiquity, with the boost they got from the Renascence period. This is what I should like to have studied, if I had ever gone to art school - clear and well-documented lessons in the science of drawing and painting, in the traditions of centuries of professionals. As it is, it is a good thing to not have gone to art school and to be learning the basics from such books as this. An excellent, easy read, with lots of explanation and illustration.
November 4, 2011
A very nice and comprehensive overview of the atelier system in it's relationship to painting. If one is thinking of atelier study, it would be good to read. If one likes art, it would be interesting. If one is an artist, you can glean some great insight from the great artwork and insightful written commentary.
September 24, 2019
The best book on Classical Atilier styles of Painting. It combines history and philosophical reasoning behind why this method is superior. I'm just a little peeved that the description for this book includes a reference to Pollock? Anyone who reads this will be far superior a craftsman that Pollack or Picaso ever were.
September 30, 2016
This book is quite okay. they have some good tips. When you read this book you find that you read more in dept about the classical techniques and period. The way they translated there views into the art they represented at that time. For example da Vinci, Michelangelo etc. There are two books in the serie.
July 25, 2011
absolutely beautiful, high quality
Read
August 11, 2011Amazing info and techniques
August 31, 2011
Excellent guide to oil painting. I loved it. Lots of details and recommendations.
May 29, 2013
Just fabulous! I highly recommend it if you are at all interested in learning to paint in the Classical tradition.
Read
March 27, 2016nice
January 2, 2018
Juliette Aristide has put together a wonderful guide that mirrors the master she is. A fine artist's must have.
August 17, 2009
May be the best book about current! painting.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews