Bottega Fiorentina · Florence
Tradition
& Method
Our Philosophy
Understanding Renaissance culture
through the practice of its art
The Florentine Renaissance was not only an event of history — it was a revolution of seeing. Learning to paint as Leonardo, Pontormo, or Fra Angelico painted is not a matter of replication. It is a way of accessing a form of attention, patience, and visual intelligence entirely different from contemporary ways of making images.
At Bottega Fiorentina, we teach technique as a path to understanding. Every gesture, every material, every layer of paint carries within it the logic and sensibility of a specific cultural moment.
Teaching activity is conducted by artists trained within the Florentine academic and artistic tradition.
L’attività didattica è svolta da artisti formatisi nel contesto accademico e artistico fiorentino.
Principles of the Atelier
- Atelier model — direct master-to-student transmission
- Small groups — never more than four or five participants
- Individual attention to each student's pace and progress
- Learning by doing — theory always enacted, never merely described
- Deep study of historical materials and their properties
- Study of Florentine and Tuscan artistic culture and history
- Continuous practice — technique is built through accumulation
- No digital tools — hands, eyes, and traditional instruments only
The Techniques
Two methods, both rooted in Florence
We teach precisely two techniques. Both are historically grounded in Florence and Tuscany, both require the study of original materials, and both offer a comprehensive understanding of Renaissance painting as a discipline.
01
Egg Tempera
Egg tempera is the foundational technique of Italian panel painting, used by Cimabue, Duccio, Botticelli, and the Florentine Quattrocento masters.
We teach the technique from the ground up: the gessoed panel, the sinopia underdrawing, cross-hatching, and final surface glazing.
Curriculum Topics
- History of the technique and its Florentine context
- Preparation of gessoed wood panels (gesso grosso, sottile)
- Natural earth and mineral pigments — properties
- Preparation of the egg-yolk binder
- Layered construction through cross-hatching
- Building volume, tone, and luminosity
- Practical exercises to complete compositions
02
Leonardo Technique
The painting method attributed to Leonardo da Vinci represents one of the most ambitious and technically demanding approaches in the history of Western art.
This is a slow technique. It demands patience, observation, and a willingness to work in near-transparent layers that accumulate almost imperceptibly.
Curriculum Topics
- The technique and its attribution — historical study
- Preparation of traditional supports (wood and canvas)
- Imprimiture — historical formulations
- Oil glazes (velaturas) — preparation and logic
- Sfumato — atmospheric edge and transition
- Chiaroscuro — building form from darkness
- Study of historical pigments and oil mediums
“L’attività didattica è svolta da artisti formatisi
nel contesto accademico e artistico fiorentino.”
Bottega Fiorentina · Firenze
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Both techniques are taught in small groups, with all materials included and instruction in English and Italian.