The Portrait from Life: The Symonds Manuscript from 1650
Overview
Richard Symonds was an Englishman who lived in Rome from 1649 to 1651. During his stay he spent time in the studio of the Roman painter, Giovanni Angelo Canini, and kept copious notes in a diary on the painter’s technique and process, which included several detailed explanations on how Canini would make a portrait.
The objective of this course is to examine the manuscript, become familiar with the materials and palette, and take inspiration from the instructions to guide our creation of a portrait.
Joining us for the course is Dott.ssa Beatrice De Ruggieri, a technical art historian known for her work on Caravaggio and Pietro da Cortona. In 2021 she presented an Italian translation of the Symonds manuscript as a doctorate thesis, and it was thanks to her that I first became aware of this manuscript.
This course is a continuation of a conversation between the two of us that first began back in 2021, and is an extension of our recent––and ongoing––investigation into the painting technique of Caravaggio.
I hope you will join us for what will be an extraordinary and exploratory expedition into the realm of 17th century portrait making.
Photo below: Tim with Dott.ssa Beatrice De Ruggieri in Palazzo Barberini.
Curriculum
By the end of this course we will have:
- Examined the materials and pigments described in the manuscript
- Experimented with the palette and the various mixes of tints and shades
- Executed a finished portrait over 16 hours (for 8 of the lessons we will work from a live model)
Materials
Paint
I insist my students use Michael Harding paints. I’ve used his colors for over two decades and his are easily one of the best paints on the market. In order to make it easy for students to try out these paints without requiring a significant investment, I offer all of the paint you will need for an additional fee of €30.
Medium: Oil and Solvent
I will provide you with linseed oil, Tintorsetto (odorless solvent) and a medium holder at no additional charge.
Brushes and Brush Holder
It is best to have an assortment of brushes: flats, rounds and filberts, with some made of hog bristle, an others, synthetic. Once you have had some experience, it is worth adding some sable brushes to your collection.
To ensure proper care of your brushes, I strongly recommend a brush holder.
Palette
Each student should invest in their own wooden palette. Round or rectangle is fine, just make sure it isn’t too small.
Rags
Please bring with a worn t-shirt to cut up for use as a rag.
For further details, please download the Materials list.
Terms and Conditions
A non-refundable deposit is due at the time of registration.
There is no reimbursement for absences, nor make-up lessons.
Registration is managed through our Course Registration portal. If you have any difficulties registering, please let us know via email or call/text via WhatsApp: +39 347 263 1033.
If the course that interests you does not appear on our Course Registration portal, it may not currently be offered. Check the schedule of courses to confirm the dates.
If this course isn't on the schedule, but it interests you, let us know!
Special Note
If you are interested in this course, I strongly recommend you join us for the following lecture and presentation:
Meet Your Instructor:
Timothy Joseph Allen
Founder and President of the Association of Social Promotion A.P.S. PADASOR (acronym for the Painting And Drawing Art Studio Of Rome), Timothy Joseph Allen is an American professional painter who has been living and working in Rome, Italy for over twenty years. He began his career in 1992, earning a BA in Studio Art at DePauw University and an MFA in Painting at Indiana University, Bloomington in 1998. He has also been teaching at The American University of Rome since 2006.
His medium is oil on canvas and his style and subject matter are principally inspired by the Renaissance and Baroque. Of special importance to his process is painting from life: “I enjoy painting most when the presence of the subject and the limit of time combine to bring a sense of urgency to my analysis, intuition and performance.”
In recent years his work has been pre-selected and/or selected in several international competitions including the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, the Mod Portrait competition at the MEAM museum in Barcelona, the Figurativas Painting and Sculpture Competition in Barcelona, the World Wide Kitsch online painting competition, and the BP National Gallery Portrait Competition in London.
To understand best what Tim can teach you, please have a look at his paintings and drawings.
If you would like to take private lessons with Tim, please follow this link.
Meet Your Guest Instructor:
Dott.ssa Beatrice De Ruggieri
Maria Beatrice De Ruggieri has a PhD in art history. She studied at the Sapienza University of Rome and the University of Siena.
Her interests have for many years been aimed at the study of artistic procedures, through diagnostic investigations and the study of technical sources. With the Emmebi artistic diagnostics company, of which she is a founding member with Dr. Marco Cardinali, she has carried out investigations on many seventeenth-century Roman and Neapolitan paintings, with special attention to the paintings of Caravaggio, the Caravaggio school and the Roman Baroque.
She has collaborated and collaborates with international institutions (Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Museo del Prado in Madrid, Stockholm University) on research projects. Her recent work involves the characterization and technical evolution of Swedish baroque painting directed by Sabrina Norlander Eliasson.
In 2023 she was a research fellow at the Federico II University with a project on the technique of the 40 paintings by Francesco de Mura preserved at the Pio Monte della Misericordia in Naples, directed by Paola D’Alconzo.
Author of numerous publications, she has carried out teaching activities at Sapienza University of Rome, University of Tuscia, Central Institute of Restoration, University of Valencia, University of Stockholm. She is currently a contract professor for History of Artistic Techniques at Roma Tre University.
