The Master School at Bois-la-Croix: Learning Classical Painting and Finding Your Own Style.

In the studio of the Château du Bois-la-Croix, soft light drifts across old plaster mouldings, revealing the silhouette of a painted plaster model. At first glance, it appears still, silent, almost secretive. Yet the moment students place themselves before it, a dialogue begins — demanding, precise, and deeply formative.

This is where Isabelle Morin works, an artist and regular participant in drawing and painting classes. Each session begins with this encounter: a real model, a blank sheet, and the challenge all artists know well — the courage to truly look.

Copying: an ancient practice, a contemporary necessity

In art history, copying has never been mere imitation. It is a school of observation. To copy is to learn to recognise proportions, the dynamics of volume, how light passes over a brow or catches a shoulder.
This tradition is carried forward by Isabelle under Philippe’s guidance: a rigorous, almost meditative discipline. Far from quick exercises, the Bois-la-Croix workshops offer the time to explore form, shadow, colour, and rhythm in depth.

Learning in order to later transcend

The goal of these Wednesday classes is not faithful reproduction.
The true aim lies beyond: to acquire enough mastery to eventually move past it. To understand rules in order to break them with accuracy. To explore. To develop a personal voice.

This is the journey Isabelle embraces: first learning to see, then learning to express. The model becomes a source — and a springboard.

The online art gallery will regularly keep you updated on the progress of this copying work.

Team Lumen, Editorial Member of the Galerie Les Koronin