Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Apprentices

David R. Seeley:

"We are only apprentices in God's workshop . . . During the Rennaissance the great artists had workshops in which they employed apprentices to help them produce their masterpieces.  Leonardo da Vinci served as an apprentice in the studio of Verrocchio, Michelangelo in the studio of Ghirlandaio, and Raphael in the studio of Perugino.  The apprentices sought engagement in the workshops to do three things.

First, they came to get to know the master, his values, and his personality and to see up close how he produced his masterpieces.

Second, they came to learn from the master by doing.  They began by doing the mundane jobs:  sweeping the shop and preparing the pigments and the panels.  As they progressed in skill, they were given more responsible tasks:  painting backgrounds or minor figures, thus participating in the creation of great masterpieces. 

Third, the apprentices came because they aspired to become like their masters.  They hoped that by knowing the master and working by his side, they could one day become masters themselves."

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