From academy to studio, how artists train today
Plaster casts and life drawing, master classes and degree shows: how artists learn their craft, from the old academies to self-taught paths.
No one needs a diploma to be an artist, yet most artists you see in museums today went through some kind of training. For centuries that meant a workshop, then an academy. Today it can mean a university art department, a small independent school, a long apprenticeship with an established artist or years of teaching oneself. Knowing how artists learn helps you read their work, and it gives you one of the best ways to discover new talent: the degree show.
The academy tradition
Before academies, painters and sculptors learned in workshops, grinding pigments and preparing panels for a master before they were allowed to paint. From the sixteenth century onwards, academies began to treat art as an intellectual discipline rather than a craft. The royal academy of painting and sculpture founded in Paris in 1648 became the model for many others across Europe.
Training followed a strict order. Students first copied engravings, then drew from the of a famous antique sculpture, and only later were they admitted to from a nude model. Anatomy, perspective and the history of art completed the programme. At the top of the system stood history painting, large scenes from the Bible, myth and history, and the most coveted reward in France was the Prix de Rome, a stay in Italy to study the old masters.
Many modern movements began as a revolt against this system. Yet life drawing has never disappeared, and many art schools still keep collections of casts.
How artists study today
Today there are two main routes. Independent art academies, common in German-speaking countries and elsewhere in continental Europe, are devoted entirely to the arts. Elsewhere, especially in Britain and North America, art is often taught in faculties of larger universities, with bachelor’s and master’s degrees and more written work.
Both routes now teach far more than painting and sculpture. Students work with photography, film, performance, installation, sound and digital media, and spend much of their time in their own studio space, discussing their work with tutors and fellow students. Technique still matters, but the core of most programmes is learning to develop an independent practice and to talk about it.
The class system and the Meisterschüler
German-speaking academies have a distinctive structure. Instead of following a fixed curriculum, students join the class of one professor, often an established artist, and stay with that class for several years. The class meets for group discussions, shares studios and often exhibits together. Students choose a teacher much as an apprentice once chose a master.
Near the end of their studies, outstanding students can be named , literally master student, by their professor. The title is an honour within the academy rather than a separate degree, but it appears on many German artists’ CVs and tells you which teacher they trained with.
Students choose a teacher much as an apprentice once chose a master.
Three famous schools
The Kunstakademie Düsseldorf began in 1762 as a drawing school founded by the painter Lambert Krahe. In the twentieth century it became one of the most influential art schools in the world. Joseph Beuys taught there as a professor from 1961 until his dismissal in 1972 after a dispute over the admission of students. Gerhard Richter was a professor there from 1971 to 1993, and the photography class of Bernd Becher shaped a whole generation of photographers.
In London, the Royal Academy Schools have been part of the Royal Academy of Arts since its foundation in 1768 and are the oldest art school in Britain. J. M. W. Turner, John Constable and William Blake studied there. Today the Schools offer a three-year postgraduate programme with no tuition fees for those offered a place.
In Paris, the École des Beaux-Arts on the rue Bonaparte, on the Left Bank opposite the Louvre, traces its origins to the royal academy of 1648. For generations its training led towards the Prix de Rome, and its name still stands for the classical academic tradition.
Self-taught artists, workshops and assistants
Art history is full of artists who never attended an academy. Henri Rousseau worked for years in the Paris customs service and taught himself to paint, and his jungle scenes are now in major museums. The French artist Jean Dubuffet coined the term , raw art, for work made outside the art world altogether, often by people with no training at all.
The workshop model also survives. Rubens ran a large workshop in Antwerp, and many successful artists today employ assistants for fabrication, printing, casting or digital work. For a young artist, a few years as an assistant can teach as much as a degree: how a studio runs, how materials behave at scale and how exhibitions are made.
Degree shows and the Rundgang
Once a year, art schools open their doors to show what students have made. In Britain and North America these are degree shows, usually at the end of the academic year. In German academies the event is called the , literally the tour, because visitors walk through the whole building, from class to class and studio to studio.
These shows draw a wide public: families, neighbours, curators, gallerists and collectors looking for new names. Entry is usually free, the atmosphere is lively and the work is often for sale at prices well below those of established artists. If you buy, do it because you love the work, not as a bet on a future career, and remember that arisano gives no financial or investment advice.
Terms in this article
- Life drawing
- Drawing the human figure from a live model, usually nude, a core exercise of academic training since the Renaissance.
- Plaster cast
- A plaster copy of a sculpture, used in academies so students could study famous antique works without travelling.
- Meisterschüler
- German title, literally master student, given by a professor to an outstanding student near the end of their studies.
- Rundgang
- The annual open exhibition of a German art academy, when all classes show their work in studios and corridors.
- Art brut
- Term coined by Jean Dubuffet for art made outside the art world and its training, sometimes called outsider art.
Readers ask
Do you need an art degree to become an artist?
No. Many important artists were self-taught, and galleries and museums judge the work, not the diploma. An art school does offer time, studio space, feedback from teachers and peers, and a network that is hard to build alone. Many artists combine routes: a few years of study, workshops, assistant jobs and long periods of teaching themselves.
Can anyone visit an art school’s degree show or Rundgang?
Yes, these shows are meant for the public and are usually free. They take place once a year, and schools publish the dates on their own websites. Expect lively crowds at weekends and a mix of finished works, experiments and installations. Students are often present and happy to talk about their work.
