,

Recent Work by My Students at The American University of Rome

In the Spring of 2021 I had the pleasure to see my first university painting student graduate. Though we only had two years to work together, Stephanie Gandolfi’s Senior Capstone Exhibition—in my humble opinion—demonstrated exceptional technical and conceptual development.

Visit the following web page for access to the virtual gallery and a video presentation of the exhibit or view a catalog of the work in PDF.

In my introduction of her for her Capstone Presentation I said:

This exhibition is a great moment for AUR. It’s a great moment because it features the work of a Fine Art major who also majored in Art History, Stephanie is our first double major. It’s a great moment because it’s the first Capstone by a figurative painter working in the traditional medium of oil paint. And it’s a great moment because her exhibition illustrates the significant development that a student can achieve in the craft of oil painting while simultaneously earning an American undergraduate degree. She has set a new bar of excellence while making it look deceptively easy.

Finally, if I may, it’s also a great moment for me as a teacher. She is the first student I have had the pleasure to work with over multiple semesters and see graduate. I first started working with Stephanie in the Spring of 2019 in the context of an independent study which had her come to my own studio once a week. I’m sure we each had our questions about how exactly things would work out, but, lucky for me, she was, from the start, eager to learn, intellectually engaged, and keen to hone her craft. We got along swimmingly… and her Capstone achievement is the dream of any teacher––a confirmation that the legacy of the respective craft and concept is safe in her hands.

Prof. Timothy Joseph Allen
May 6th, 2021
Rome, Italy


I am also very proud of the work students did this past Summer in my Drawing I class. View the virtual exhibition or a catalog of the work in PDF.

As an introduction to their exhibition I wrote:

This Drawing I course was designed to provide students with the core set of skills needed to pursue a classical discipline in drawing and paintng. Working with graphite, charcoal and chalk, students are taught to see, evaluate and execute specific shapes, lines, angles, proportional relationships and tonal values.
The first lesson on the first day began with me handing them a pencil and asking them to to make a copy of a da Vinci drawing without any instructon. By the end of the course we would make a second copy of the same image to compare to the first.
The lessons that followed included copying a Bargue plate, copying a drapery study by da Vinci, and culminated with the making of a stll-life observed from life.
My sincerest compliments to all of the students on their achievements. The results speak for themselves. Buona visione!

Prof. Timothy Joseph Allen
June 24th, 2021
Rome, Italy

0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.