Jerusalem Studio School

In 1925 Aldous Huxley pilgrimed his way to Sansepolcro to see what he memorably deemed the “the best picture in the world”

“Great it is”, he writes, “absolutely great, because the man who painted it was genuinely noble as well as talented. And to me personally the most moving of pictures, because its author possessed almost more than any other painter those qualities of character which I most admire and because his purely aesthetic preoccupations are of a kind which I am by nature best fitted to understand. A natural, spontaneous and unpretentious grandeur - this is the leading quality of all Piero's work. He is majestic without being at all strained, theatrical or hysterical…. Even his technically religious pictures are paeans in praise of human dignity. And he is everywhere intellectual.”

This year, JSS director Yedidya Hershberg executed his annual transcription demo of this ineffable work. A work which the students themselves will encounter this summer on our very own pilgrimage through the “Piero trail”.
Piero, who loomed large for 20th century masters Balthus and Giorgio Morandi, and who was seen as the summit of artistic expression to Bernard Berenson and Kenneth Clark, will scarcely be found on the lips of instructors in contemporary academies and ateliers. An insight, perhaps, into why these institutions obsess over 19th century doctrines and methodologies rather than the aesthetic/pictorial idiom arrived through cultivation and influence.
Balthus’ youthful transcription of the same work is a case in point. Paying homage on the one hand and betraying himself so completely on the other. Later, his own figures will take on the same majestic grace as the figure of Christ.
The transcription, as noted in previous posts, is not a copy. It is at once homage, cultivation, and interpretation. It is a way of breaking down coloristically and structurally all the essential components of a painting, and how one might, in turn, bring these insights into their own work.

More poetical works from the JSS masterclass this year! Works by the outstanding advanced students Esther Goshen and Gilad Meyer!

Part 1 of a set of phenomenal works from our midterm critique from the incomparable masterclass students.

In today’s expanse of ateliers and academies the Jerusalem Studio School remains the only figurative art program in the world which offers an approach rooted in a comprehensive and cultivated understanding of tradition and not the mere expiring ashes of 19th century academism.

We are still accepting applications for the full-time Master Class program beginning October 4th 2026. Apply now!

Part II!
Maayan Segal first 3
Esther Goshen
Iftach Ayali
Gilad Meyer
Amalia Rotem
Inbal Ester Levenberg
Ido Zitayat

Phenomenal work from the JSS masterclass midterm critique part I.

Ido Zitayat first 3
Itamar Nesher following 2
Amalia Rotem following 2
Itay Sivan last image

Registration for the Summer 2026 JSS in Civita Master Class and Guided Residency is now open! We are thrilled to announce that this year’s Guest of Honor is South Carolina-based painter Brian Rego.
Civita Castellana and the Roman Campagna remain what they have always been for painters: the very landscape where Arcadia as idea found its embodiment and the birthplace of open air painting – a place where eye, memory and pictorial desires converge.

Come join us: https://jssincivita.com/

JSS director, Yedidya Hershberg giving one of many annual drawing demos for the Master Class.

Off to a great start! No shadow boxes, no sight sizing, and John Singer Sargent is on the bottom of the food chain.

Some more beautiful works from the JSS masterclass!
Anouk Samuel, Daniella Shinder, Amalia Rotem