Art History Lecture w/ Tom Richards - Painter's Studio

An Installment in the Art History related content on The FAA Collective Patreon

Dear Patrons,

Thank you for your support! This week we are excited to present you with an art history lecture by Tom Richards, Assistant Director of The Florence Academy of Art, focusing on how studio space and light can be used as a creative tool in painting.

Richards takes us through several examples (a few of which are found here in Florence, Italy!) explaining how painters from the past created different effects through light. Particularly described is how in the context of a studio space, that window height (side light, north light, skylight, etc.) and the placement of the model in relation to it along with the artist creates very different outcomes that can be used to enhance the meaning and psychological impression a painting has on the viewer. From the well known set up of John Singer Sargent’s London and Paris studios (thanks to photographs) allowing for several interpretations of light, to the historical records showing that Jusepe de Ribera asked for an enlargement of a window in his studio, likely allowing for the dramatic lighting in his 1634 The Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew, to some more defuse and soft lighting in examples by Titian, Van Dyck and Velazquez, we explore how light and the placement of a model in a room can help an artist imply meaning and continue the narrative of their work. A list of artists mentioned can be found below!

We hope you thoroughly enjoy this lecture! 

Selected Artists Mentioned:

John Singer Sargent (1856–1925, American expatriate)

Jan Van Eyck (1390–1441, Dutch)

Masaccio (born Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Simone, 1401–1428, Italian)

Pontormo (Jacopo Carucci, Jacopo da Pontormo, 1494–1557, Italian)

Jusepe de Ribera (1591–1652, Spanish)

Antonello da Messina (Antonello di Giovanni di Antonio, 1430–1479, Italian) 

Sir Henry Raeburn (1756–1823, British)

Sir Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641, Flemish)

Diego Velázquez (Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, 1599–1660, Spanish)

Titian (Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio, 1490–1576, Italian)

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606–1669, Dutch)

Giovanni Battista Moroni (c.1520– 24–1579)

Hanna Hirsch-Pauli (1864-1940, Swedish)

Frans Hals (1582-1666, Dutch)

Cigoli (Lodovico Cardi, 1559-1613, Italian)

Tom Richards was born in London in 1982. In addition to his experience as a painter he has an MA in Art History from the University of St Andrews, graduating in 2005. Since then Tom has divided his time between London and Florence. In recent years he has exhibited his work in London and undertaken numerous commissions in Europe and beyond. He is currently Assistant Director of The Florence Academy of Art in Florence, Italy. 

To view his work please visit:

https://www.instagram.com/tominflorence/

https://www.tawrichards.com/

https://www.florenceacademyofart.com/alumni-gallery/tom-richards/