Caught in the Act

Ana was caught by surprise. It was an amazing drawing but it was not hers. The teacher saw the exact moment when she was making a copy of her colleague's drawing. Ana did not expect the arrival of the teacher from behind. She expected her to be ahead of the easels, as usual. But, this time, there was a suspicion in the air. Helen, the new girl was a brilliant fine arts student and she worked very quickly rendering the model`s sketch in whichever pose she was as sharp as a Japanese artist.

Although Ana was not a bad drawer, compared to Helen, she was a beginner. And she was not a beginner. In fact, she worked for some time now and struggled to be the sharpest drawer in the studio. She admired Chinese and Japanese artists for their economy and exactitude and she needed to practice more and more to be as fast as they were.

This time she didn`t expect the teacher`s come from behind and see what she was doing. She had been caught in the act. She had no excuses, furthermore to this sagacious woman that saw everything and knew each of her students in deep. Of course, no one could forget that she came to Brazil to escape World War 2 in Italy. Her name was Catherine, she missed nothing and soon realized that this new student would disturb her old students.

Ana felt chillings on her spine. Catherine would give her her famous disapproval look full of sadness for this deceptive attempt to improve her work dishonestly. Perhaps she would not say anything. Perhaps she would even act as if nothing had happened. But Ana saw Catherine`s eyes. Saw her disappointment and even disbelief. How could Ana do this? They were great friends in spite of the big difference in ages. Ana used to stay longer after the classes to listen to Catherine`s stories of her natal city Cesena, in Northern Italy, and the adventures she lived in war times, as she had been married to a Camisa Nera official, from whom she divorced as soon as she could.

Well, there was nothing to say. Helen feigned not to have noticed Ana`s attitude and went on drawing her sketches. The model changed poses many times, as the students had only five minutes to render each pose and some of them used the fusain to measure the model, as Catherine had told them, explaining that the human figure has an average of five to seven times the size of the head.

The teacher called Ana discreetly at a corner-- told her her disappointment, and changed places, putting her on the opposite side of the room.

This time Ana had a view of Ipanema beach in front of her, from a big window to the small porch of this improvised apartment on the penthouse of a building that didn`t like this artist`s studio above their heads. This had been made clear when after Catherine and her second husband, a Polish official that had endured concentration camp prison, sadly died, their neighbors put everything down-- as if it had never existed.

Well, but it did exist and many emotions and stories had been lived there. The basis of Ana`s knowledge of art has been taught there. Catherine was a fantastic teacher and told her students everything she knew and thought about art, teaching them to perceive the quality of artwork from the spontaneity of a trait, the quality of a brushstroke, the possibility of seeing through the back of the canvas. She had studied with the great Morandi in Italy.

Ana began to measure the figure with her fusain and worked humbly from her corner not to call the attention of the other students, made some good sketches, and saw a smile on Catherine`s face.

Then she had an idea. Why not draw the people she saw at the beach? They all seemed to be posing taking their sunbath lying on the sand. She made one, two, and three sketches. They were good. She was finally content with herself. She forgot about Helen and remembered some great Japanese drawings she cherished the most. She was getting nearer to this art.

Catherine approached her from behind again and this time she was smiling. What a good idea to draw the girls from Ipanema!

The music had just been composed by Tom Jobim and performed by Tom and Frank Sinatra.

Catherine put a record on the gramophone and everybody entered the Bossa Nova climate.

The day had been saved. No more suspicion in the air, no more deceptive actions, no more copies, no more disappointment. The war was over. Nothing disturbed the peace in this studio. Anna has learned her lesson. Nobody would copy anybody`s drawing. Each one was unique, and all the students went to the porch to draw the girls from Ipanema. This has been a good idea.

Although people could not imagine there were a bunch of art students drawing them, they changed poses as if they were models. Not so quickly, sometimes stretching their arms, sometimes lying face down, then turning to the left or to the right. Sitting and shrinking their legs, in sequences that could be used for today`s animes.

The students became noisy and called the attention of a girl that stood up to go to the water. She squeezed her eyes to find out who was talking and laughing so loud surpassing even the stormy sound of the waves breaking in the sand. The wind sometimes stopped and their voices could be heard at a distance. Then the wind blew again and they could not be heard.

In one of these intervals, she discovered them. They were apprehensive. Would she be mad at them? Would she like the idea? Benjamin, one of the students, was so excited by the idea of having made sketches of a girl from Ipanema, that he asked Catherine permission to go there and talk to the girl, and perhaps ask her to come by. Catherine agreed a little reluctantly and Benjamin went there. He sat on the sand near the girl, began to say something to her but didn`t come back to the studio that afternoon and nobody knew what they talked about. Only guessed.