An Academy of Painters

Pierfrancesco Alberti

1600–38 · Etching · Drawings and Prints

Prints representing academy scenes became more common after the first official art academy was established in Florence in 1563. At the Rome venue depicted here, masters (with beards and hats) instruct young artists. The masters teach the principles of disegno, which entails both the ability to render a drawing and the intellectual capacity to conceive its design. One master displays a sheet of sketches to two students at left, while another gives a lesson on geometry in the center. In the background on the right, a group examines a cadaver to learn about anatomy. The paintings and pieces of sculpture that adorn the back wall served as additional aids for the students.

Artist

Pierfrancesco Alberti

Date

1600–38

Medium

Etching

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1949