The new Stabat Mater Studio in Tyler, Texas, is dedicated to training the next generation of liturgical artists.
Over the last 30 years, there has been a proliferation of ateliers and small independent schools in the US teaching classical naturalism through the academic method of drawing and painting. While it is important that the basic skills of drawing and painting are taught to a high level, typically, these schools are secular in outlook and teach a philosophy of art that undermines the Faith.
The Stabat Mater Studio is an authentically Catholic environment that offers the five core disciplines of traditional Catholic artistic training (as described in my book The Way of Beauty).
The imitation of a canon of Old Masters
Direct observation from nature
Sacred geometry and the mathematics of Beauty
Continue spiritual formation through an environment that encourages the practice of Faith, emphasising those aspects that encourage the graced imagination and creativity.
A Catholic inculturation - a deepening awareness of what Catholic culture is and the place of visual art within it
Under the guidance of Master Artist Robert Puschautz, students are immersed in the academic method that was developed by the Renaissance masters. This isn't just art instruction but a holistic formation integrating faith, prayer and artistic practice. I met Robert 15 years ago and have maintained contact over the years. He came to the Scala Foundation conference last year in Princeton, NJ, where he met renowned iconographers Aidan Hart and Jonathan Pageau and was impressed by their description of the way that Byzantine iconography training aims at forming the whole person. He has now adapted that approach to the more naturalistic Western tradition.
The unique and uniquely Catholic curriculum combines drawing and painting fundamentals with sacred geometry and design principles in harmony with Catholic theology and philosophy. Students will copy masterworks, work from life, and actively participate in real church commissions, in an apprenticeship approach that was the norm for artists before the modern age.
In an increasingly secular world, Stabat Mater stands apart by unapologetically championing sacred aesthetics and craftsmanship in service of the Church.
To find out more and to apply, go to https://www.stabatmater.org/study
Here are some example’s of Robert’s work. I include Master copies - painting and a cast drawing and paintings based upon Master images. These are an important part of the traditional artists’ training.
Sacred Heart
St Mark, cast drawing, charcoal
Master Copy from Velazquez, Coronation of the Virgin
Immaculate Heart of Mary
St Joseph and Christ Child, after Ribera
