SUMMER PROGRAM AT THE TUSCAN CLASSICAL ACADEMY
July 24–August 13, 2008
On-Site
Director:
David
Mayernik
The Tuscan Classical Academy
Located in
a lovingly restored Tuscan hilltop estate 25 kilometers north of Florence, the Tuscan Classical
Academy
is a novel venture based on long-standing traditions, ideals, and
values.
The
academy was founded by veteran architectural restorer, linguist, and
educator
Lynn Fleming Aeschliman, who started restoring the Capitignano property
in the
late ‘60s, and is co-directed by Victor Deupi, the Arthur Ross Director
of
Education at the Institute of
Classical Architecture and
Classical America in New York.
The academy
brings together outstandingly talented and experienced architects,
artists,
teachers, and theorists who are devoted to the classical, medieval, and
Renaissance traditions in the arts that created the great European
landscapes
and cityscapes such as Tuscany and Florence.
Devoted to
craft and studio traditions that involve students and professionals in
the
vigorous personal appropriation and extension of these skills, the
academy
fellows promote the arts as essential to true human flourishing and
well-being
as well as professional competence and growth.
The
Capitignano estate has several major buildings that contain a library,
studio,
lecture hall, salon, and comfortable living and dining accommodations,
as well
as a swimming pool, tennis court, and terraces. The academy runs
collaborative
programs with the University
of Notre Dame School of Architecture,
INTBAU, the
Erasmus-Jefferson Summer Institute (Universtiy of Virginia), the Boston
University College of Fine Arts, and the American
School in Switzerland
(Lugano). Independent
students are welcome to apply to attend on a credit or non-credit basis.
Introduction
The aim of
the summer program is to introduce art and architecture students and
professionals to the larger mission of the School
of Architecture at the
University of
Notre Dame and to expose them to the rich architectural heritage of Florence and Tuscany.
More than any other city, Florence
was the seat of Renaissance humanism, and the center for the
flourishing of the
classical arts. Throughout the quattrocento and cinquecento, Florence
witnessed a revival of architecture and the building arts that
decisively
changed the way Europe and the West
thought
about the built environment. The summer school is supported by the
International Network for Traditional
Building,
Architecture
and Urbanism (INTBAU).
Course Description
The
program focuses on three themes: (1) The
history and
theory of Florentine humanism; (2) Tuscan
classical
architecture and its regional variants;
and (3) drawing and painting. The history and theory component consists
of a
series of lectures on medieval civilization and Renaissance humanism
and site
visits to important cities and buildings throughout Tuscany. These
center primarily on Florence and the
Mugello valley, although day trips to Fiesole,
Pienza/Montepulciano, Siena,
and Pisa/Lucca complement the
Florentine focus. Students are required to keep a sketchbook of their
site
visits.
The study
of Tuscan classical architecture and its regional variants examines the
rediscovery of classical architecture in quattrocento Florence,
and its creative interpretations throughout Tuscany. For advanced students, the
course
offers design exercises that explore the Renaissance notion of concetto
or conceptualization of form and its intrinsic iconographic content.
Students
work in pencil, watercolor, and wash.
The
drawing and painting component introduces students to the basics of
landscape
drawing and painting based on observations from nature. Students work
in
various media (watercolor, gouache, pencil, charcoal, and chalk) to
learn how
to develop preliminary work in design and composition. There are also
opportunities to develop a painting in oil, accompanied by applying
this medium
to creating an illusion of reality through atmospheric perspective and
the
rendering of various components that go into a landscape. The subject
matter
ranges from wild mountainous vistas to cultivated fields, to buildings
and then
cityscapes.
Structure
The course
is divided into two parallel strands:
(1) art and architecture students seeking summer school credits at both
the
introductory- and advanced-level courses;
and (2) professionals seeking continuing education credits. The two
strands are
also divided into those whose focus is primarily architecture and those
whose
focus is fine art. The two groups do, however, share a number of
lectures and
exercises and all the tours are done jointly. Participants seeking no
academic
credit are also welcome.
Faculty
Architect and Painter David Mayernik,
Professor, U. of Notre
Dame, School
of Architecture
Architect Victor Deupi, BSArch, UVa;
MArch, Yale U.; Ph.D., U. of
Pennsylvania;
Founding Codirector of TCA; Arthur Ross
Director of
Education, Institute of Classical Architecture and Classical America;
a founding member of the INTBAU Management Committee.
Art Historian Jill Johnson Deupi, Ph.D., U. of
Virginia, Fellow, American
Academy in Rome
Painter Maureen Hyde, MFA, U.
of California;
Instructor, Florence
Academy of Art
Visiting Architects:
G. Amoruso and C. Bartolomei, Ph.D.s, U. of Bologna
Fellows of the Academy
Michael D. Aeschliman, Ph.D., Columbia;
Professor at Boston University and University of Italian Switzerland
Architect Pier Carlo Bontempi, Parma, Italy
Architect Maxim Atayants, St. Petersburg, Russia
David M. Steiner, Ph.D., Harvard;
Dean, Hunter College School of Education;
formerly Director of Arts Education, National Endowment for the
Humanities
Lynn F. Aeschliman, BA, Barnard
College, Columbia University;
Founder and Codirector of the Academy
Mark Aeschliman, M.A., Middlebury, M.A., Syracuse, artist and art historian, The American
School in
Switzerland
Painter Diane Afton Aeschliman, BFA RISD
Artist John Smalley, MFA U.
of Iowa, TASIS The American School
in England
General Information
The
program is open to art and architecture students (although rising high
school
seniors are accepted to the Academy, they must obtain special
permission to
receive Notre Dame credit), professionals, and talented amateurs from
the
United States, Europe, and elsewhere. Admission to the program is by
permission
of the instructors and on a space-available basis. Applicants are
required to
submit examples of their work in the form of digital images,
photocopies, or
photographs. Students are housed for the duration of their stay in
restored
villas and farm buildings on the estate of Capitignano in the Mugello
valley,
45 minutes north of Florence.
All courses and studio work are carried out in the restored hay loft (fienile)
and stable (stalla) of the
complex. The cost
of the program, including housing, meals, tours, Notre Dame tuition,
and fees,
is $4,400. Drawing and painting supplies are not included. A $500
deposit is
required along with the application to hold a place. Full payment of
the
remaining cost is required by June 1. All payments, minus a
cancellation fee of
$150, are refundable until this date.
For
further information and queries, please contact:
or
Lynn F. Aeschliman
E-mail lfa@tasis-schools.org
Fax (++41 91) 994-6475
Tel.( ++41 91) 960-5135
OR
Ariadne
Milligan
1735 N. El
Molino Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91104
E-mail ariadnemilligan@hotmail.com
Tel. (760) 554-6494