Ilya Repin St.Petersburg State Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture

[Eew]

Book Guru thank you for all the information, i will be applying for the prep courses. Do i have to make sure that my mail arrives at the academy before the end of May ? It is a silly question but this way i know exactly when i should send it and to make sure that i can send my latest studies so i dont feel that i didnt show my best attempts.
You have mentioned that russian students get free supplies and maybe i have missed it but do foreign students buy the their own ?
How big are the chances as a foreign student to get a room on the campus ? Because money is an issue and only if i manage it very well i will get around for the year.
Another thing that i am wondering is that i speak russian already(im originaly from oezbekistan but grew up in europe) so in case i would be accepted i could make a deal with the academy because i dont need russian language lessons.

Could you please be so kind and take a look at my sketchbook, your honesty would be appreciated , just tell me how much chance i make to get an invitation.


Are there people who are sure that they are applying ? If we meet in october i would be glad to help anyone with translations.

[Lumisade]

Book Guru thank you for all the information, i will be applying for the prep courses. Do i have to make sure that my mail arrives at the academy before the end of May ? It is a silly question but this way i know exactly when i should send it and to make sure that i can send my latest studies so i dont feel that i didnt show my best attempts.
You have mentioned that russian students get free supplies and maybe i have missed it but do foreign students buy the their own ?
How big are the chances as a foreign student to get a room on the campus ? Because money is an issue and only if i manage it very well i will get around for the year.
Another thing that i am wondering is that i speak russian already(im originaly from oezbekistan but grew up in europe) so in case i would be accepted i could make a deal with the academy because i dont need russian language lessons.

Could you please be so kind and take a look at my sketchbook, your honesty would be appreciated , just tell me how much chance i make to get an invitation.


Are there people who are sure that they are applying ? If we meet in october i would be glad to help anyone with translations.

Hi Eew, I am SURE that I will be applying. My mind has been a chaos and I'm applying to so many other schools as well, but when I just typed that here..I'm sure that I will be applying. I don't think foreign students get the supplies for free and I believe it was mentioned somewhere in this thread that the prep course-students can't live at the campus. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

I've got a couple of questions to add here. Like I said, i'm applying to many other schools in Europe and I will get info whether I'm accepted or not around april-june. It would be stupid to tell these schools that I'm not entering there afterall if I'm not even sure if I got accepted in the Repin Academy. So when will I hear if my application was successful? And even if it was succesful, it still doesnt mean 100% that I'm in, because they will evaluate me AGAIN in the beginning of october? How likely is it to be dismissed from the course during those evaluation days? My biggest fear is that I have cancelled my entry to the other schools where I applied, thinking that I will be spending a year in Russia, and then in october they tell me that I cant study there I guess it's just a risk that I have to take?

edit. Eew, youve got such a nice sketchbook going on there. That seriously motivated me to get back to the painting that has been haunting me in my living room for a couple of weeks

[Eew]

And even if it was succesful, it still doesnt mean 100% that I'm in, because they will evaluate me AGAIN in the beginning of october? How likely is it to be dismissed from the course during those evaluation days? My biggest fear is that I have cancelled my entry to the other schools where I applied, thinking that I will be spending a year in Russia, and then in october they tell me that I cant study there I guess it's just a risk that I have to take?

edit. Eew, youve got such a nice sketchbook going on there. That seriously motivated me to get back to the painting that has been haunting me in my living room for a couple of weeks

As i understood the tests in october are more of a formality to make sure that you didnt cheat with you application and to see you in action(thats why they would grade your work at that point).
Thank you, i like the fact that it motivated you to go and paint

Oke, i know that art supplies are much cheaper there then in belgium, i hope they dont mind people using cheap printing paper for sketchbooks then

Hmm now i am confused because i read that some french or whatever girl refused her campus room because she didnt liked what she saw. Ill have to reread this thread. If thats true then anyone applying should let know of themself because i doubt that anyone wants to live with crazy old ladies or pay 500-1000$ for a place alone. Anyone who is not so concerned with privacy and has an easy going character and a laid back state of mind pls pm me . I know that im getting ahead of myself because i dont know if i will be accepted or not but if i will wait untill then im afraid it will be too late to get everything organized , planned and worked out.

[threecharles]

I am looking at applying for 2012 after finishing up my BFA. It all depends on money though :/ Sad that money quickly holds back education but this is life. I don't recall seeing it mentioned, but I have spoken with a few students studying there now. The dorms only cost 50 dollars a month. I can't imagine they are fabulous, but seemingly cost efficient for those of us with a tight wallet.

Wish you all luck on your application process!

[setsuna801]

50$ a month for a not soo cool dorm is a pretty good sacrifice if one needs to save up for 4000$ for the year

[Book Guru]

Hi guys!

Sorry for not replying earlier…
I’m in the middle of the longest Russian Winter Holidays, which runs from Jan 1 to Jan 11.
Merry Xmas & Happy New Year to all!!

Now, answering your questions.

Threecharles,

The images you question are taken from the Practicum.org website (without permission!! how could you??!!… well… it’s ok. just wanted to scare you... a bit of heavy Russian humor).
As far as I know, the images have been taken from Professor Sokolov workshop (the same where Prof.Mogilevtsev teaches drawing classes).
As I understand, you refer to narrative. It is taught from the beginning (we’re talking about studying at the Academy, not prep courses), right from the 1st semester.
E.g, the images you provided at the bottom are mostly from the 3rd, 4th, and 5th year.

You select the workshop where you want to study at the 2nd year. Each year is different but usually places are taken quite evenly. Though monumental painting workshop usually runs exams as competition to that place is always tough. Frankly, I think it’s a bit crazy as any workshop of any professor provides the same high level of fine art education (it’s like Harvard vs Eaton vs Yale vs MIT… etc). Otherwise, they wouldn’t be teaching there. In any case, changing your workshop later is always considered to be very unethical (and happens extremely rare).

- “The dorms only cost 50 dollars a month” – sorry, you’re wrong…

Campus prices vary.
- Budget students (those who were admitted for free studying, after a big competition, only Russian citizens) pay NOTHING.
- Commercial Russian students – pay about 1,000 rubles/month (though I didn’t check the price lately, don’t know for sure, will check), 3-5 people live in the same room.
- Commercial foreign students – pay about $200.00 USD/month for a nice room for two, they’re mostly Chinese, as other foreigners prefer to rent private apartments.

Again, I need to double check on all these prices. Will get exact numbers after Jan 11.
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Eew,

- “make sure that my mail arrives at the academy before the end of May” – I’d say, yes! I don’t see the reason to postpone your shipment until the end of May. Send it right in the beginning.
Also, you don’t need to worry, I’ve checked your sketchbook, you’re doing fine! I have absolutely no doubt you’ll be accepted to prep courses. I might suggest what kind of images to send for evaluation. Just please make sure there are not too many skulls!
What’s preferred is portrait (head), nude figure (if possible), still-life.
Again, your works show enough to start studying at prep courses.

- “russian students get free supplies” – only when studying at the Academy. No students of any kind receive art supplies at prep courses.
The same goes for the campus – it’s available only to students of the Academy, not prep courses. Again, it’s a good idea to cooperate with another student (or students) and to rent a 2 or 3-bedroom apartment together. Though the prices have fallen a bit, you still should estimate paying up to $500.00/month if you want to rent an apartment for yourself.

The only bright side is that you really can save some money on food. I don’t mean starving, but for 6-7 bucks you can have a really nice business lunch (or pay twice less at Academy cafe). Cereal for breakfast (2 bucks for a box of a good one), bread for supper (loaf of bread is about 1 buck). In any case, supermarket prices are definitely lower than in Europe.
- “i speak russian already” – I need to check on this after January 11. What could really help if you still had your Uzbekistan citizenship, but I really doubt that you do.
I don’t want to give any promises, but I hope you might enter prep courses together with Russian students, in such case the price differs tremendously. At least, twice less expensive (I believe it’s less than 8,000 rubles per month, which is roughly 200 euro). As I know, they don’t make any difference with Russian-speaking students from Ukraine, Belorussia, and other countries, so hopefully they’ll make an exception for one Belgium student as well. Again, no promises, but I’ll talk to them on this.

(That French girl in the Academy campus – I’ve never heard of that story. But the campus was renovated about 2 years ago, at least its “foreign” part is in really good shape now – which is usually taken by Chinese students, it’s about $200.00 USD per month, it’s a nice room for two. I’ve provided links earlier, from Practicum.org website, has plenty of images there, including campus pics.)
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Lumisade,

(I assume you’re talking about prep courses precisely, yes?)

- “So when will I hear if my application was successful” – within 2 weeks after you submit your works. I recommend sending your works a bit earlier, I might ask them to give you an evaluation right away, though not sure they’ll agree.
- “How likely is it to be dismissed from the course during those evaluation days?” –
There is absolutely no way to get dismissed during your personal evaluation in October, if your works show pretty much the same level as the works you’ve submitted. Eew is right, it’s done for making sure that you didn’t cheat with sending someone else’s samples for evaluation. But guys, really… no one is in the position to throw you out of the school, trust me. What they mostly check during evaluation is your STYLE, they check your way of work, as they want to see where to start with.
And PLEASE – before you get a heart attack – be prepared that EVERYONE gets very bad grades during October evaluation, such as “2” or “3” (if you’re lucky) out of 5. It’s not to discourage you, but to make you keep going as already by the end of semester you’ll see the progress and will like to compare your first work with what’s done after studying there after only a couple of months.
Only very lazy students get in troubles. Even though… there is one Chinese student who studies there (at prep courses) for already 4th year! Every June he’s trying to enter the Academy. His parents send him money regularly. It seems like they're sure he’s already studying at the Academy for a long time (not at prep courses, of course!)… he’s really bright, very gifted, but extremely lazy. He starts well each year but then comes back to bad habits. Though this year he’s finally doing well, as he was told it’s his last chance. (Though poor parents don’t even suspect they’ll have to keep paying for him for another 6 years!)

[threecharles]

Thank you Book Guru,
I probably am wrong, just going by what a 4th year student at Repin told me yesterday, "The dorm is about 50 dollars a month. It is not particularly convenient, not exactly what you get from the American college dorm experience."

What exactly is Monumental Painting, and how do the different studios differ?

[Book Guru]

Yes, I must agree with that 4th year student.
I think we should need to make photos of some rooms there, to help people to get an idea.
No, it's not that scary. But it's better to know what to expect.

Monumental differs from Easel... well... in monumental. They study and create murals, large format paintings, etc. They have different workshops there, e.g. one, run by Professor Krylov, is for those studying historical and religious art... I cherish this one, it's run by one of the best draftsman (I mean, Krylov) - a very modest and wonderful person, who has taught two generations of excellent artists. Etc...
There was a guy from South Africa, a very talented one. He studied there as well. Got very much into religious painting, even got baptised (became a Russian Orthodox)... But eventually he's left at the 4th year of his studying. The Academy was even willing to let him stay and continue studying for free, but his parents wanted him back, as he'd spent too many years studying (prior to Russia he studied for several years in Italy, taking private lessons as far as I know).

If you refer to the difference among the same kind of workshops - e.g., easel workshops differ, of course, but as I say they all teach fine art in the same academical approach, in the same system... If you look at works of Kalyuta, Savkuev, Blokhin, and others - you'll see the difference, but the system is the same.

[Eew]

Book Guru thank you, it would be very nice of you if ask that . I m saving up money and should have just enought by end of august but if i can start in russian prep courses i will defenetly have enought for the year. I apologize for asking questions you already answered . I have to do alot of painting because so far i only draw.
Does it make alot of difference in what medium you submit the portrait and nude paintings ? I also dont have access to life nude classes so i will have to do it with photos.

[Book Guru]

Eew,

Please, don't apologize, you ask good questions that haven't been answered here yet.

- "in what medium you submit the portrait and nude paintings"
For prep courses, it really doesn't matter. Though oil is always prefered. For entrance exams everyone has to paint in oils. But for prep, you can submit any medium, just make sure you show both your drawing and painting abilities.
Also, though it's my objective view (I'll check on that later), if you submit good drawings, you might probably omit painting works, as you'll be taught painting techniques during your prep courses.

- "I also dont have access to life nude classes"
Do as most Russian students do (they have absolutely no access to nude models) - draw yourself, or draw your friends - in exchange for a copy of that drawing (Xerox).
I personally don't like drawings made from photos, especially by beginners. At evaluation they'll see it's from photo and though I'm sure you'll get accepted anyway, but photo works are always considered by the Academy as... hm... low class.

[Jonas Heirwegh]

Book Guru, I just want to say thanks for the major contribution to this thread!
I will update the first post with more info so people can find all the important info about the Repin Academy in the beginning of this thread.

Just have a quick question. Do you know of any student drawings or paintings from Repin himself when he was at the academy? Do they have drawings from him lying around somewhere?

[Book Guru]

Jonas,

Thank you for this thread!

I wish there were people from the Academy visiting this thread. Yes, most of them are too busy, others don't speak English... but still.
Comparing to other art schools that have their reps here day and night, the Academy has a really huge gap in any kind of information.
Even us, being in St.Pete and knowing people from the Academy, even we have to gather all the information by pieces.

So again, thank you for this wonderful thread. And I feel very flattered so many people are interested in Russian art education in general and this great school in particular.

I did found some nice images from Ilya Repin's Academy years, will post them shortly.
Btw, his final diploma work is the only diploma ever acquired by the Russian State Museum. This honor has never been given to any graduate ever since. I'll post that painting here as well.

Today is the last day of the longest Russian Winter Holidays. Thank God. If you know what I mean...
So starting tomorrow I'll be visiting this place more often.

[setsuna801]

about the architecture department, what type of architecture it is. is it architecture applied to painting and drawing or is it the same as what we do here in the us were we learn how to construct building, and I suppose you need math and physics to enter

[Eew]

Book Guru thank you, you are absolutly right. We ( or atleast i ) should concentrate on sending the works in mei first and if accepted start searching for information about renting a place. Just in case more people are planing to go to the academy lets keep in touch.
Oh i almost forgot, i doubt it makes any difference but on my passport i have oezbekistan(tashkent) as country of origin.

[lena murray]

I don't think there is a dorm for $50 a month, may be for the Russian students. I heard from Ivan Isakovich (who is the head of the program for international students) it's around $200 a month.

[setsuna801]

thinking about it really 200-500$ a month is really good, and 7000$ a year pretty good deal. Aslong as you get the money, speak russian and work hard your pretty ready to go. I have never been to florance, new york or california, but its probably more expensive then 200-500$ a month to stay right ?

[Lumisade]

Thank god I get goverment support for studying (like 500 e per month). At least as long as the school is accredited. The prep course is too, right?

[Book Guru]

Hey guys,

I've got something really nice for you today.

It's been a question of many fans of the Russian Academy, as well as those who plan studying there...

PREP COURSES - IMAGES...

Yes, I finally got my greedy hands on a good bunch of them. And now ready to share.

I'll separate them into 3 posts:
- Drawing
- Painting
- Composition

Enjoy!

[Book Guru]

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[Book Guru]

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[Book Guru]

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[Eew]

Somehow i didnt need to see the works to convince me but the drawing and painting sections are amazing. Some of the composition works remind me of my childhood .
Thank you for the effort Book Guru, now i understand how it is possible that that one person was able to start her own art school after two years of prep courses.
Right now i already have half of the amount that i am planing on taking with me that i saved up. By august i should have the other half. I also started to look in possibilities for government support here in belgium. For that Belgium have to recognize Repins school( still not sure recognize as what). But i doubt that prep courses would be recognized/sponsored.
I will be making appointments to see if there is any government support possible. Maybe i'll have some usefull information for other belgian citizens.

[Eew]

here is a small text from dutch education portal that might be usefull. The main thing is that Russia is part of EHOR(countries rcognized for government support by Belgium) and the program is recognized by Russian government and leads to a diploma. And obviously, still all the rules apply for students abroad as for local students. So if you already waisted all the money that you are eligible for on local education they are not giving you more to study somewhere else

http://www.ond.vlaanderen.be/studiet...ogeronderwijs/

Als u buiten de Vlaamse Gemeenschap of in het buitenland studeert

Als u ingeschreven bent in een onderwijsinstelling in de Franse of Duitstalige Gemeenschap of in een ander land van de Europese Hogeronderwijsruimte (EHOR), kunt u een studietoelage krijgen als al de volgende voorwaarden vervuld zijn:

* de instelling of de opleiding is door de plaatselijke, voor onderwijs bevoegde overheid erkend,
* de opleiding leidt tot een diploma dat door de plaatselijke, voor onderwijs bevoegde overheid erkend is,
* u voldoet aan alle voorwaarden die ook in Vlaanderen gelden om een studietoelage te krijgen.

Bovendien moet u voldoen aan één van de volgende voorwaarden:

* uw hoofdverblijfplaats ligt in het Vlaamse Gewest,
* u behaalde al een diploma secundair onderwijs van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap,
* u behaalde al een diploma hoger onderwijs van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap.

Als u ingeschreven bent in een onderwijsinstelling buiten de Europese Hogeronderwijsruimte, moet u aan dezelfde voorwaarden voldoen. Bovendien mag de gevolgde opleiding niet bestaan in Vlaanderen en moet deze opleiding en de organiserende instelling bijdragen aan de verdere uitbouw van de wetenschappelijke discipline. De Vlaamse Regering keurt in dit geval de studiefinanciering goed nà advies te hebben ingewonnen bij het Agentschap voor Kwaliteitszorg in Onderwijs en Vorming en bij de erkenningcommissie.
Voor een opsomming van de landen in de Europese Hogeronderwijsruimte kunt u terecht op de volgende lijst EHOR.


edit: I am not sure if there are any belgians planing to study at Repins but if you are and you are still in your early twenties there are 2 more possible ways of getting a little bit of extra money : 1 - childsupport money ( that is normaly paid to your parrents as long as you study but when you are over 18 this money can go directly to your bank account: usualy between 80-200euros a month )
2 - if you already work and you get fired from your work you are eligible for unemployment support. So you can use that money to almost free roll thrue the year. This is not 100% legal but hey thats what people do here all the time. i belive the same is possible if you have a bachelor degree but still unemployed.)
3 - there are more instances that have very little to do with education but give you money for all weird reasons .

Basicly our system is very well designed to support anyone in any kind of activity. You just have to know where to go.

[Jonas Heirwegh]

Hey Eew, I'm from Belgium too. Do you have msn or the likes? I'm planning on going to the prep course when I finished my school here. I gathered some nice information but most is already in this thread though

grtz
Jonas

[setsuna801]

I have a difficult time believing this is prep courses, wow. how many time the teachers visits for prep course? but yeah thats very good 1 one year only. But then again you guys said the russian have a lot of background before. What I would like to see is more foreigners taking the prep course. But thinks a lot for the pics, its very helpful. If anyone got any information regarding how to get money from canada to go t here would be cool, I will be makin my research when I am near my goal

[lena murray]

Book Guru, thank you for posting those photos from the prep course.

I recognize some of these prep course paintings and drawings, it's true they were done by the Russian students at the prep courses, and they must be taken from the book that was published by Ivan Isakovich with the best work from the prep courses.

These are not of equal quality. The painting of an older woman in the greyish/bluish colors was shown to us (prep course students) as a better example, and it really holds up, I'd say it's the best of the bunch. It's funny, but some of the fundamental problems with the Repin Academy today (lack of wholeness in the work, everything is viewed separately) is quite evident in these works. Separate parts are modeled well, but as a whole the picture falls apart, severe problems with proportions. In fact all of our works during the grading exhibition (mine included) had the same basic problems, I remember that.

The compositions... I wouldn't have shown them... but unfortunately this is what students are required to do at the exams.

I think James Sondow (look up his blog called Stranger in a Strange Land) who is now a 3rd year sculpture student from NYC, has photos of work done by foreign students, mostly Chinese, and you will see they are not that bad, especially considering he took those pictures at the very beginning of the year, when they were drawing casts.

Also about funding. I know that Erik from Denmark who is now taking the prep course is trying to get the funding from the Danish government, so I think it's possible.

[lena murray]

EEW: Looked up your work, you will do very well there, you are moving in the right direction, your scull studies and self-portraits are very good. I know that when you apply to the prep course they will like them.

[lena murray]

this is the studio where the Russian students study. The one for the foreign students is similar, although it is not in the main building. I will post the picture of that studio as well, I have it.

[lena murray]

here is the studio for the foreign students

[lena murray]

these photos are from the intensive master class for american students, I believe in 2004-2005, organized by me through Bridgeview School in NYC. The first picture is with Professor Mogilevtsev who is showing us how to stretch paper for drawing. You wet the paper and glue the sides to a board and then tone it with a thin watercolor neutral tone.