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

[Book Guru]

Ad Fundum,

Krylov. That's the name to remember. One of outstanding professors of the Academy. Very talented and increadibly modest man.
He is in charge of that Department of Religious and Historical Painting.
You need to study at the Academy for 2 years, and to be a really good student to be accepted there. First, they check your works during evaluations, then you have a confidential interview with Prof. Krylov.
Of course, you can mention already at your 1st year of study that to get to his workshop is your goal. And to visit his workshop on each and every occasion. In other words, to show interest.
Prof. Krylov's workshop is kind of "mafia" (in good sense), all his students adore him and they all exist somewhat by their own within Academy walls.

There was one guy from South Africa, he wanted to study there at the very beginning. He became so serious about this that he even got baptised here. Of course, no one wants you to become a Russian Orthodox, but you definitely need to have religious soul. Otherwise you'll never comprehend what you're doing there.

And in regards of anatomy - all Academy students (excluding architects) have the same amount of hours spent on anatomy studying.

Check this link at Practicum.org - Department of Religious and Historical Painting (Krylov workshop).

And this one - from exhibition of student anatomy works, Manasherov workshop (check the level! and it's only 1st and 2nd year of study!).

[Book Guru]

Morphidae,

Sorry, I didn't see your post in the previous page.

Hm... Seems like you've been under anti-Russian progpaganda lately!

Of course, you can travel! Any town, any village, left to right, top to bottom...
As long as you don't cross Russian borders you're free to go any place.

Again, you first apply for a tourist visa. You only need to have an invitation from the Academy for that. Which you'll receive if they accept your works after evaluation.
Then you arrive here... (see my previous messages about all that), then the Academy exchanges your tourist visa to a student visa. We're very lucky that the Academy has a "State" institution status, so they're eligible for exchanging visa for their students.

So again, you can travel all over Russia even with your tourist visa.
And with student visa is the same. But even better, as with this type of visa you can cross Russian borders (e.g. going home for vacation, Xmas, etc).
Besides, during summer time all Academy workshops leave St.Pete and go to different locations for plain air. Mostly to Central Russia, some go to Crimea. Yes, landscapes there are increadible... you'll love it.

[Book Guru]

Guys,

I hope it's acceptable to share the news that are quite important to our company (from a business perspective), but also we all personally feel very happy about this fact...

Professor Mogilevtsev was just recently awarded by the Russian Academy of Arts with the Gold Medal for his teaching achievements and for his both books, Fundamentals of Drawing and Academic Drawings and Sketches!

We all are really excited about this, and wish Prof. Mogilevtsev all the best in his artistic, but most importantly (to us) in his teaching career.
At present, he's working on his next teaching aid, Fundamentals of Painting (spent on this 2 years already). And the next one will be Fundamentals of Composition.

I apologize for this post to have a flavor of advertising, but we all honestly are very happy for this incredibly gifted person, Professor Mogilevtsev, Hurray!!

[threecharles]

Awesome, I really got a lot out of the drawing book. If you have an english PDF of his next books I will definitely pick that up!

It would be nice if the images on the PDF versions were a bit higher resolution.

[Book Guru]

threecharles,

We'll see.
The reason we made this PDF possible is that a hard copy of Fundamentals exists in Russian only. Though we plan to have it published in two languages this year.
But all further books we plan to print in two languages, so the layout will be setup the proper way from the very beginning.

As of Academic Drawings book, this one for sure won't be made in PDF version. It's an album, and it doesn't make any sense to have it in low resolution (bad quality) as well as in high resolution (copyright infringement).

Btw, by summer time we'll have an updated English edition of PDF file, with much proper text. We'll send it for free to all customers who've purchased this book earlier either as a hard copy or as a PDF version.

[Ad Fundum]

Book Guru,

Thank you very much for replying. That work is fantastic! I am an older student returning to artistic training (29). I will work hard for this next year to try and prepare an application. If I can make it a year and I still have the desire, then I hope to someday meet you and Professor Krylov.

I'm sure this has been asked before, but what books are currently offered in English from your store?

[Book Guru]

Ad Fundum,

I'll make sure to share information with you on happenings in that department. Again, that workshop is quite hidden from people even within the Academy.
But we have direct connections with Prof. Krylov, thus getting information first hand.

Our books in English...
Besides an English PDF version of Fundamentals of Drawing -
we keep our fingers crossed... but very hopeful to complete the following list during this publishing year:
1. Academic Drawings and Sketches by V. Mogilevtsev (in 2 languages), printed in China at this moment; we hope to see it by the mid of April;
2. Fundamentals of Drawing by V. Mogilevtsev (hard copy). It will be either in 2 languages (if published by us), or in English only if our plans for licensing work out;
3. Artistic Anatomy, album by G. Manasherov; will be printed by one company in Finland (3 languages); we should see it by autumn;
4. A. Krylov has plans to publish his own teaching aid. It's in the process of creation, but we hope to see it by the beginning of 2012;
5. V. Mogilevtsev is working on his Fundamentals of Painting. If he wasn't so busy with teaching, the book would have been ready by now. We hope to also see it by the beginning of the next year.

Besides, we might also have albums by other professors of the Academy.
Often they request such albums without any plans, only because they have a huge exhibition somewhere, and get in a rush to have a beautiful album to be created within... 30 days...!!
They think painting is hard... they should try publishing business then.

Btw, both albums by Nikolay Blokhin are sold out (Drawing and Painting). Became such bestsellers, though not a surprise to us at all.
Congratulations to all who had purchased them, as they're still in big demand but not available anywhere.
(We had a gallery owner from Netherlands who sells Blokhin's artworks and wanted to buy his albums some time ago. But then he told us it's less expensive to buy them in Europe, he saw them for 30 euro/piece, but he didn't want to say where... If you see these books somewhere, please let me know!)

One other thing to mention.
To Russian art standards, 29yo is kind of like... an artistic puberty. They call 45 and 50yo artists "young" or "beginning their artistic career". Anyone younger 40yo is not considered too seriously.
I just wanted you to look at this from a different perspective... as there are not so many 16yo (close to none) who'd get an idea studying religious painting.
Yes, our Academy student age became younger (mid 20 is normal comparing to mid 30 as it was in 1990s and earlier), but yet - art age standards that I've mentioned above, remain.
Really, you can't imagine how young you are.

[Ad Fundum]

I really appreciate your quick and thorough replies. And thank you for changing my perspective, I think you understood why I wrote my age.

Will Nikolay Blokhin's albums be printed again?

[Book Guru]

Ad Fundum,

Good question.

We don't know.
He published both albums at his own expense. He had several huge exhibitions last year. Most of these albums were sold at those exhibitions.

We just started a subscription, so when we have at least a couple of hundred people in the list we'll let him know. I'm quite sure he'll be interested in printing the 2nd edition, especially if we take care of some of his printing expenses.

[lena murray]

I came across a few Repin graduates through FB recently, here is one of them, Talant Soodanbekov. whose work is particulary nice in my opinion. He studied at the Pesikov's studio. So his painting teacher was Pesikov and his drawing teacher Blokhin. I am sure you can befriend him on FaceBook and probably ask him some question, although his English is probably quite limited.

[Book Guru]

Ad Fundum,

There is a new article just published at Practicum.org.
I think it will be particularly interesting to you, as it's about Russian icon style - with samples from famous Facial Chronicle (Litsevoi Letopisnyi Svod) created by the order of the tzar Ivan the Terrible, 16th century.

[Ad Fundum]

Thank you Book Guru! I will spend some time tonight reading this and catching up.

I'm excited that I found someone to instruct me as I begin to learn to see and draw. I will keep watching this for motivation.

Thanks again

[threecharles]

Why is it that most if not nearly 99% of the drawings I have seen from the Repin Academy are men?

[Book Guru]

Threecharles,

Hm... I'm confused.
Are you talking about men-artists or men-models?
In both cases it's not true.

[threecharles]

Men-models. Are most of them not men?
Here is an Example:
http://www.practicum.org/index.php?o...6-16&Itemid=41

I'm just saying from the drawings posted I have seen VERY little drawings of women by students? If you have them, could you please post them?

[Book Guru]

Threecharles,

Ok. Thank you for your explanation, now I understand.

However, one more question (sorry) - do you mean nude female models or it doesn't matter?

[threecharles]

Yes, drawings of nude female models taken to completion.

Thanks :]

[Eew]

Hey everyone, i thought i might share this. 15 september is my last day at work. I will be sending my portfolio soon. I thought about it and in case i am not accepted, i wille use the money i saved up to travel the world. Hopefully i will be accepted thought (i already got myself nice winter socks ! )

[Book Guru]

Eew,

Congratulations!
I'm quite sure you'll be accepted (I can bet 1kg chocolate bar on this!)
Waiting for your portfolio. You have at least one month left, but please don't postpone until the last day.

~~~

Threecharles,

Ok. Here it is.
In classical art education mostly male body is is used for drawing, with very few exceptions.
At the same time, in painting usually female models are used.
This is the way how academic art is taught at our Academy. The same goes for old European academies - as they used to be (Italy, France, Spain, Germany, etc).

This is not the rule. But male body is much more interesting for drawing than female body. Of course, you can argue on this but again, this is the academic system.

However, I can show you samples of nude female models drawn by our Academy students. They're mostly sketch excersises (quick 5-10min poses) and studies.

Below are the samples from the 2nd edition of our Academic Drawings and Sketches teaching aid.
I hope this proves they really know how to draw a nude female as well.



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[lena murray]

Threecharles,

Yes, they use almost exclusively males for the long poses for drawing. The reason being anatomy, much easier to observe on a muscular or bony man. In fact, the types of male models are also very speicific. During the first and second year they use a lot of older men (preferably skinny with developted but not overdeveloped muscular phisique), because that's the time when they draw and study from the skeleton, ecorche and all other anatomical parts.

As far as the quick jesture poses (evening drawing classes) they do have a lot of women, because female body is usually better in terms of plasticity, for getting the spirit of the pose.

And when it comes to the prep course, it's actually both, men and women. But, the models at the prep course (and I see from the subsequent blogs they are still working from the same people I drew 3 years ago) were sort of rejects from the degree students, again, money issues. I remember having to use books with anatomical references (that's what the teachers advised us) to figure out the anatomy, which is actually not a bad idea. Sometimes it's actually a good challenge to have a bad model because you start using your brain more rather than copying what you see.

They have some of the best models at the Pesikov's studio (the one where Blokhin teaches), because the students there decided to pay a little extra money to the good ones. The academy official rate 3 years ago was $3 - $5 an hour, so you can imagine who would work for this amount of money. So, I would very much recommend everyone who signs up for the prep course to augment it with the Open Drawing sessions at that studio. They are open to everyone for a very small fee.

[lena murray]

The two models I posted here from the Academic Student Drawings book are exactly the types of male models that are preferred, older, bony and muscular. I drew both of them with Professor Mogilevtsev years ago, even before taking the prep course, and they were absolutely great in terms of the clarity of the form and how they handeled the contraposto. Also, these guys take a 45 minute pose (usually standing). By the way, all models at the academy stand for 45 minutes before they take a 15 minute break.

[Book Guru]

Guys,

I don’t want you to get a wrong impression that only if you pay extra money you get good models.

As a matter of fact, most Academy professors have their favorite models they use year after year.

E.g. Mogilevtsev uses the same male model for over 10 years. It’s the same model that was used for his teaching aid Fundamentals of Drawing. I’ve seen drawing classes with this model, and I must say, he is perfect.

It’s not always an ideal body that is important but his or her ability to present his body, his plasticity, etc.

At the same time, I must admit, the government had just cut the Academy’s expenses on models. So professors have to search for their own ways to have good models for their classes.

In such scenario, yes, it’s not a bad idea to make some really small donations and to get new models for your classes. Young, beautiful, plastic and artistic.

Here is Prof. Mogilevtsev's favorite male model (also mentioned in Lena's post):

[lena murray]

Yes, the model BookGuru showed at the previous post was absolutely amazing, when we drew him. Unfortunately, he died a few years ago. The man was hard of hearing too, so he would hold the pose sometimes way longer than 45 minutes at a time, because he could not hear the teacher telling him to break.

By the way, I found out for sure no medical exam is needed to obtain your visa. I heard from Maja from Denmark who is taking the prep course now. She did have it done for some reason, but it was not required. I guess 5 years ago when our American students were going, they were getting a student visa right away and for that the medical exam was required. But now that they changed it for a tourist visa, it makes sense.

[threecharles]

Thank you both, that answers my question that the students basically aren't doing long drawings of female models, but instead paint female models.

Also, those paintings are awesome Lena! Thank you for posting his work.

[Ad Fundum]

Does anyone know what happened to the student who was keeping a blog?

His last post was nearly 2 years ago, I was really interested in his progress and assessment.

[lena murray]

Ad Fundum, I believe you are referring to James Sondow's blog "Stranger in a Strange Land"? I am in touch with him, he is doing very well, now in his 3rd year, meaning 4 years in Russia already.

He is quite settled there, speaks excellent Russian, has a Russian girlfriend (perhaps a future wife) and getting good grades at the Academy. Jim is one of the most driven people I've ever met, and someone who can make himself comfortable anywhere.

So, I assume he does not feel much like a stranger any more to keep this blog.

Also, from my own experience, once you get involved at the Academy and live in St. Petersburg, the rest of the world becomes sort of inconsequential. It's not just being at the Academy but also being in St. Petersburg, which is a very self-contained city with it's own interesting life and people.

[lena murray]

Threecharles:

You can make a FaceBook connection with Talant whose work I posted.

Also, there are others who are on Facebook, recent graduates and current students.

Leonid Okun is an American from California, he is working on his diploma, graduating soon.

Also, Olga Gerlach and her husband, they are in Germany, both recent graduates, he studied at the Monumental studio, and she at the Sokolov's (the one where Mogilevtsev teaches drawing). They've put up a lot of their student work on Facebook, and she even has a video demonstration painting a still life.

Also, of course Ilya Mirochnik, but most of you know him already, he is in his 4th year at the Pesikov's studio. His friend is Natalia Nikitkova, from Sokolov's studio.

Leonid and Ilya are americans, so they speak English.

[Ad Fundum]

Thanks Lena

[threecharles]

Ah, Thank you Lena. I have spoken to most of them, but I will certainly add the ones I do not know. Luckily Leon is friends with some of my friends. Such a small world. Thanks again Lena. Right now all my concerns are with the cost. Hoping I can get the grants to help cover most of my first year in 2012, and sell art to cover the rest. Otherwise I may have to to attend an MFA program here, which would certainly not be my preference.

[dmitri]

This thread makes me want to explode out of excitement! Ah the names and the work and aaa!
I get to study at the graphic's department of the Academy as an exchange student next year. Going to be beyond fantastic. And before that I have a still life course with a graduate from the Academy and then four weeks of anatomy with professor Manasherov!
*hyperventilate!* Good teaching without me going broke! It don't get much better than this..

Haha, it's going to be strange to see how teachers I have met in a much more informal setting (the training at Kotka and my current school) are at the Academy...