Thirty years ago, Alan Pascuzzi was a budding young art historian studying at Syracuse University in Florence when he won a Fulbright scholarship to study the drawings of Michelangelo. Whilst examining the drawings closely, Pascuzzi “apprenticed” himself to Michelangelo, learning how to draw using the polymath’s techniques as the basis for his own burgeoning practice as an artist.
Pascuzzi has lived in Florence ever since and has his own studio where he continues the Renaissance tradition of making art, while teaching the techniques and art history of the great masters. He has executed commissions in fresco making and sculpture across the world and gives lectures and workshops on various programmes in Florence, as well as in his own studio.
He explains his special approach to The Florentine: “For me, art and art history go hand-in-hand. I use one to learn more about the other. All the great Renaissance masters had a knowledge of Greek, Roman and even medieval art, so that they could build on what was done before them. My art history research took me into the archives and museums to see Michelangelo’s drawings and to access treatises to learn the traditional techniques in order for me to eventually use them in my own work. I now use only the materials and techniques of the Renaissance in my own art making, all learned through my art historical research. In turn, through using the traditional techniques, I have gained insight into how drawing, painting and sculpture was done in the Renaissance. Being an artist and art historian gives me the opportunity to explore 360-degree Renaissance art from the historical, artistic, and even spiritual perspective.”
This month, Pascuzzi is offering a new programme in partnership with The British Institute, called Making the Renaissance. “The aim of the programme is to give a complete view of what it was like to produce art in the Renaissance, to explore the art historical aspects through a series of six guided visits, followed by hands-on workshops exploring the different art techniques. So we will be viewing Renaissance drawings and then making copies of 15th-century drawings using the same techniques, going to see frescoes in Santa Maria Novella and then making a fresco copy of Masaccio, examining 14th-century egg tempera paintings in the Opera del Duomo Museum and then using eggs (!) to paint a small work, seeing Titian’s oil paintings in Palazzo Pitti and then making one using his technique, and finally exploring Renaissance sculpture in the Bargello before creating a copy of a work by Michelangelo!”
Alan continues: “It will be a rare experience to explore not only the art history of some of the most famous art in Florence, but also experience with your own hands all the materials and techniques used by the great masters. In the workshops, only authentic materials will be used, including natural chalks, powdered pigments, eggs, lime paste, and boar’s hair brushes! Participants can expect to get a full immersion into the world of Florentine Renaissance art, exploring works of art like an art historian, an artisan and an artist.”
Making the Renaissance starts on Saturday, October 12.
