Three-year Academic Course
The teaching philosophy of the Milano Painting Academy stems from the desire to create a truly free, inclusive, and contemporary art school, inspired by the model of the great Renaissance workshops: a place where every student can express their talent, cultivate their sensitivity, and develop solid professional skills beyond traditional academic constraints.
Under the artistic direction of Nicola Verlato—one of the most important contemporary figurative artists at the international level—MPA offers a highly structured three-year program that combines the strength of classical drawing with a broad, up-to-date, and experimental vision of art. Guided by Verlato, the curriculum is enriched by an authoritative vision in which tradition and innovation engage in a dynamic and profound dialogue.
The educational approach is an open circuit: each student is followed individually with flexibility and constant attention, progressing at their own pace within a highly stimulating environment. Teaching is organized into work areas, with specialized instructors in each discipline and a personalized tutoring system that enhances the abilities and progress of every student.
What makes the Milano Painting Academy unique in the Italian landscape is also its prestigious faculty, made up of highly accomplished artists active on the national and international scene, alongside experts leading theoretical-practical seminars essential to complete the training: history of techniques and materials, applied anatomy, 3D composition, and the contemporary art system.
The training path is supported and enhanced by the contribution of the Fondazione Maimeri, long committed to the promotion of art and culture. Through events, workshops, and prestigious collaborations, students experience real opportunities for engagement with the professional world.
MPA is not just a school but an active, multicultural cultural community, where learning happens through shared practice, exchange among generations, nationalities, and diverse backgrounds, and a vision of art as a space for relationship, dialogue, and personal transformation.
First year
Drawing and painting as a single language
The first year is dedicated to building the foundations, with an integrated approach between drawing and painting, which from the very beginning are treated as a unique and coherent language.
Through the use of hatching and the geometric analysis of forms, students learn the principles of Renaissance drawing and immediately apply them to painting, which progresses in parallel as a natural development of drawing.
The study begins with the figure, anatomy, and proportions, moving on to the management of volumes, light, and the first glazes.
To complete the path, from the first year onward, theoretical-practical seminars are active, fundamental for a solid and comprehensive education: from the history of techniques and materials to three-dimensional composition, from applied anatomy to the contemporary art system.
Second year
Consolidation and deepening
The second year focuses on consolidating technical skills and deepening the acquired languages. Students create copies of works by ancient masters and tackle more complex compositions in both drawing and painting, experimenting with more advanced chromatic, compositional, and spatial solutions.
Daily practice from life remains central, with targeted exercises aimed at strengthening perceptual sensitivity and technical mastery.
The seminars continue and become more in-depth, offering essential tools to interpret and master the various aspects of artistic practice, in continuity with the workshop teaching.
Third year
Research, identity, exhibition
The third year is entirely dedicated to the development of an autonomous and mature artistic identity.
Students undertake personal drawing and painting projects, guided by the instructors in a critical and creative process that culminates in a final group exhibition, curated by a prominent figure in the national art scene, with the publication of a personal catalog.
The continuous supervision of the teaching staff, combined with active participation in advanced seminars—including those focused on the art system, curatorship, communication, and exhibition planning—provides students with all the tools necessary to approach the professional world with skill, vision, and awareness.
Drawing
Renaissance hatching drawing: the study of shadows and volumes using the methods of the great masters, starting from the first year.
Quick sketches and gestural drawing: to develop a sense of movement and synthesis.
Copies from the Masters (2D to 2D): exercises on classical and modern works to assimilate proportions, composition, and line.
Drawing from statues and casts (3D to 2D): study of volume and light through drawing from three-dimensional models.
Life drawing with live model (4D to 2D): understanding the human figure in relation to time, gesture, and light.
Anatomy applied to drawing: study of the human body from a structural and geometric perspective, integrated with theoretical and practical lessons.
Painting
Introduction to painting and basic techniques: exercises parallel to drawing starting from the first year.
Painting languages: copies from masters and study of the visual codes of figurative painting.
Life study – chalks and human figure: exercises in pictorial construction from life, with posed models.
Life study – analysis of color, texture, and composition.
Life study – study of natural light.
Research and personal language: original projects developed with individual tutoring.
Theory Lessons and Seminars
Integrated from the first year to complement and deepen practice:
Material techniques
Anatomy in space
3D composition and software
Contemporary art system
All seminars are conducted by highly qualified teachers, scholars, and curators, aiming to provide professional and up-to-date tools on the art world.
During the course, students participate twice a month on Fridays in educational visits to museums with the teachers, for life study and copying masterpieces by the great Masters of art.
The MPA Method
The MPA method was created to meet the need for excellent training in figurative drawing and painting, overcoming both the rigidities of traditional academies and the conceptual approach of many contemporary schools. It distances itself from the purely theoretical and anti-figurative teaching of “contemporary” academies, as well as from academic approaches rooted in the French tradition (such as the Bargue-Gérôme method), proposing instead a deeply current vision of artistic practice.
At the core of the MPA method lies a simple yet radical belief: drawing is a design and cognitive process, not merely an aesthetic act. This idea, rooted in Renaissance thought, guides the entire educational structure of the academy and is now reinterpreted through a contemporary lens under the supervision of Nicola Verlato, an internationally renowned artist and a key figure in the figurative art scene.
The Centrality of the Student
Each student is placed at the center of the educational process through a tailor-made path: individual, progressive, and based on daily guidance from a highly qualified teaching staff. The program is organized into open modules, allowing each student to learn and progress at their own pace, according to their skills and rate of development.
Students work closely with instructors—active and internationally recognized artists—each specialized in different areas (drawing, painting, theory, anatomy, material techniques, 3D composition, art system). This continuous exchange enables a solid, flexible, and personalized education focused on tangible results and real, measurable growth.
The Centrality of Drawing
Drawing is not just one discipline among others: it is the educational cornerstone around which the entire training system revolves. It is the fundamental language upon which all pictorial knowledge is built—the tool through which the analytical and design skills essential for every artist develop. Drawing makes it possible to understand volume, form, light, anatomy, composition, and space.
In the MPA method, drawing is not seen as a preliminary phase to overcome but as an ongoing practice that accompanies and supports painting in an inseparable union. It is through mastery of drawing that each student gains the freedom necessary to develop their own personal pictorial language.
The teaching of the Three-Year Academic Course in Drawing and Painting is structured as an intensive three-year path, with a professional and personalized approach.
Each academic year lasts 9 months, during which students undertake a complete training activity:
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24 hours per week of practice (drawing and painting) plus educational outings
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14 hours of seminars per month
Practical lessons are held Monday to Friday, from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM and from 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM, within the Academy’s spaces. Courses are offered in Italian and English to ensure access to an international artistic community.
During the year, students participate twice a month on Fridays in educational visits to museums with the teachers, for study from life and copying masterpieces of the great Masters of art.
The course by year
First Year
The focus is drawing, conceived not as an aesthetic exercise but as a true design and cognitive tool. Work is done on understanding form through light, volumes, geometric anatomy, and the relationship between structure and observation. Hatching drawing, a direct legacy of Renaissance workshops, is studied in depth along with the development of the first painting basics, always integrated with graphic practice.
Second Year
Attention shifts to figurative painting, with the progressive study of different pictorial languages. Composition, use of color, chiaroscuro, and the construction of light as a volumetric element are addressed. Work is done from life, with live models, still lifes, and landscapes, and with copies from the Masters to refine technique and sensitivity.
Third Year
The focus is the development of a personal language. Each student is guided in defining their own style, thematic research, and preparation of a final collective exhibition, curated by a professional in the field and accompanied by a published personal catalog. It is the moment when technique, identity, and vision merge into mature artistic expression.
MPA Method: a flexible and continuous path
The MPA teaching is based on an open-cycle method: each student can join the program at any time of the year, following a personalized path, without rigid divisions into classes or levels.
The time needed to complete each module varies from person to person, and each phase of the path is guided, verified, and calibrated on individual development.
Post-Diploma Opportunities
Students who successfully complete the three-year course and wish to pursue a teaching career may be selected as teaching assistants within MPA courses, thereby becoming an active part of the academic staff and continuing their educational path also in the pedagogical field.
At the end of the study course, the Milano Painting Academy will issue an MPA certification for participation in the chosen study programme.
Teachers and Visiting Professors
for questions, to request more information or to book your spot, please contact us at: info@milanopaintingacademy.it
