BACAA/Roberto Osti Holistic Figure Drawing Master Workshop Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, UK

Dates: June 20-25, 2025
June 20 - One day of instruction at the British Museum, London, UK
June 21-25 - Five days of drawing and instruction at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, UK

Course Description:

Figure Drawing can be greatly rewarding and one of the most fascinating subjects an artist can pursue. This Master Class is designed to give you the fundamental knowledge and technical skills necessary to progress in this discipline and increase the quality of your artworks.

This workshop is structured on a holistic approach that considers both the technical and historical aspects of art history and art making: the first day of the workshop is dedicated to a visit to the British Museum, where we will have the opportunity to admire a number of select artworks, including the amazing Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon. Studying these iconic masterpieces, paintings, and sculptures, will permit us to better appreciate the material discussed in class. We will also visit the Western Print Room of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, where we will have private access to a number of Master’s artworks that I will select for the occasion, a rare opportunity to appreciate great master drawings in a private and intimate setting.

Each of the 5 days of the studio workshop will be held at our beautiful studio at the famed Ashmolean Museum in Oxford will start with a two-hour morning session where I will create large-size drawings demonstrations on the subject structure, anatomy, proportional relationships, measuring techniques, drawing techniques, and more. The participating artists will draw along with me as I create these demos. During the afternoon 3-hour drawing session, following a lunch break, we will draw from life a professional and inspiring model, creating a number of figure drawings and putting to work the notions learned during the morning session 

My teaching approach stems from the Florentine Structural System, developed by Leon Battista Alberti during the early Renaissance in the 15th century Florence. With this system, the participating artists will learn to “read” the human figure, progressing from passively copying it to conceptualizing and understanding the beautiful complexity of the human form, ultimately creating more expressive, anatomically correct, and aesthetically pleasing images of the human figure.

The drawing techniques practiced during the workshop include drawing with graphite on white paper, learning to develop an extended tonal range, from white to black; drawing with charcoal and chalk on toned paper, working from a mid-value toned paper and developing a tonal range using charcoal and chalk; reduction technique, finally, we will practice the Trois Crayons technique, using red, black and white crayons or colored pencils.

Included:

• One day of Instructed work at the British Museum, London

• Roundtrip train tickets from Oxford to London and transport to the Museum.

• A visit to the Historic Ashmolean Western Print Room
  (drawings by Raphael, Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Tiepolo & others

• Five days of drawing and instruction in the Ashmolean Studio from the live model

• Drawing Materials for the Workshop

• One group pub night

• End of class celebration Dinner

Instructed Museum Work:

Dates: June 20:
Location: Working in the British Museum with emphasis on the Elgin Marbles and Greek Parthenon statuary collections with instruction.
Hours: British Museum: 11:30 am 8:00 pm
Lunch: 1::30 pm - 2:30 pm

Studio Work Ashmolean Museum:
Dates: June 21-25
Hours: 11:00 am - 5:00 pm
Lunch: 1:00 pm- 2:00 pm

Accessibility:
Local cafes and restaurants within Oxford

Oxford Bus and rail transit.

COST: $1,975

Registration:

Registration form/Terms and conditions must be completed and agreed to, or signed and emailed prior to payment.

Pay by Cashier’s Check, Bank Bill Pay, Credit Card, PayPal, or Zelle via your bank.
We do not accept Personal Checks. We do not accept cash.

Partial Payments are not accepted.
All Funds received are nonrefundable and nontransferable.

Tuition does not include travel or accommodations.
This program cannot make recommendations for student accommodations in Oxford and is not responsible for any housing, accommodations, or additional transportation. All Funds received are nonrefundable and nontransferable

Purchasing travel insurance is highly recommended.