"Florence - Early 16th Century"
My lady, I have brought your morning clothes.
My lady! How immodest!
I'm at a good part right now.
Born into a noble family in Florence,
"I Want to Be an Apprentice" Born into a noble family in Florence,
"I Want to Be an Apprentice" I was completely absorbed in art from a young age.
My father provided me with an environment to do art,
but he passed away last month...
Even though we're nobility, we're not that wealthy, and our current problem...
...is...
Huh? What? No way!
Mother!
What are you doing?
I'm disposing of things we don't need.
Stop that! These are my drawings!
I only allowed you to have art lessons as a hobby.
If you are so absorbed in it, gentlemen will lose interest in you.
Is it really so important to be liked by gentlemen?
Yes, it is.
You are almost 15. You understand, don't you?
With your father gone, we cannot prepare much of a dowry...
It will be hard to find someone to take you like that.
If you want to live a decent life in the future,
your only choice is to be liked by those gentlemen.
Is the "decent life" you're talking about
staying at home not being able to do what I want,
living each day like a bird in a cage?
You will understand one day how much I'm thinking of what's good for you.
Father...
Lady Arte, the art teacher has arrived.
Art is not going to do that girl any good.
Come now, don't say that.
It's fine for it to be her hobby, but she's becoming too obsessed.
What charm is there in a girl who is only good at art?
No matter what we had her do, she looked depressed.
Only when she is drawing do her eyes shine.
I love seeing those eyes of hers...
Besides, if she keeps facing forward and standing with dignity,
then I won't be the only man who recognizes her charms.
Father...
The time is the Renaissance.
Inside the city, workshops large and small line the streets.
There, the hands of skilled artisans give birth to many works of art.
In the workshops, most assistants are live-in workers.
They help with jobs as they study painting and sculpture under their masters.
Excuse me!
Huh?
Please let me be your apprentice!
Huh?!
I'll do anything! Please!
What's a noble girl like you saying?! Go home already!
Huh?! A female painter?
Are you making fun of my workshop?!
You're getting in the way of work! Hurry up and go home!
I failed at 17 in a row...
There's only one more workshop in this neighborhood.
There's still one more!
I need to clear my own path myself!
I told you, it's impossible!
Hurry up and go home!
What's that? It's noisy...
At least look at my drawings first--
I don't have to look at them!
Why not?
Why not? Because you're a girl!
You want to be an apprentice even though you're a girl?!
A girl who draws?!
I won't let a girl cross over my threshold!
H-Hey...
What do you plan to do with that thing?
Stop! Don't be hasty!
If everyone's going to keep getting hung up about me being a girl,
then I'll give up being a girl!
Hm? I see. It's not enough to cut off my hair, huh?
--Then I'll get rid of my breasts, too!
--Hey! Stop that! --Then I'll get rid of my breasts, too!
What are you doing?
Ow...!
Leo?!
Oh, yeah! You don't have any apprentices, do you?
Why don't you take that girl?
Huh? What? What are you talking about?
Jeez... I've been dragged into something annoying...
Have such a strange kid foisted on me...
S-Strange...?
I suppose I did lose my composure a little...
It was more than just a little.
The whole room is packed with things...
But... each brush and tool has been carefully looked after.
Amazing!
Well?
What should I do? This man...
He's somehow scarier than the people from the other workshops!
--Um... Well...
--What? --Um... Well...
Didn't you have business with me?
If not, then get out of here.
I do! I do have business with you!
I... want to become an artisan.
So... please look at my drawings!
Please!
You're going to look at them?!
What does it look like I'm doing to you?
Thank you very much! I'm so grateful!
No one's even been looking at them, so I didn't know what I'd do...
Be quiet! If you want me to look at them, then stop talking.
I don't like noise.
Why do you want to be an artist?
Um... I want to be an artist because...
I love drawing...
I guess that's why...
When I'm drawing, it's like I lose track of time,
like I'm so happy that all I think about is drawing.
Huh? Um...
Um... Leo...?
I see. Okay.
I'll make you my apprentice.
But under one condition.
That's a lot of wood panels.
Are you going to paint on them?
Yeah. Do you know what "tempera" is?
Oh, yes. It's a paint made by mixing egg with pigment, right?
Have you ever prepared a panel for painting?
Just once, when my tutor taught me...
You have to clean the surface of the board thoroughly and sand it carefully.
Then, use paste to fill in the knotholes and paint on layers of undercoat.
Then you don't need me to explain it to you.
File all of these and paint on the undercoat. Do it by tomorrow morning.
I'll come back tomorrow to check them, so finish them all by then.
Um--
Thank you for giving me a chance!
Well, good luck.
All right, I'll do my best!
Oh, if it isn't Leo!
I heard you gave that girl everyone's talking about an impossible task.
He told her to prepare 20 wood panels in one night.
Even I wouldn't be able to do that.
That's seriously playing dirty.
Why did you go through all the trouble? Did that girl do something to you?
Not really...
It's just that a sentimental girl raised comfortably in a noble's house
is trying to become an artisan because she "loves drawing"...
I just don't like it.
Really...?
Well, the aloof Leo is on edge today, too, huh?
Please... I beg of you...
I'll give this to you, so go away!
Thank you very much...
You're a dirty brat! I don't want another apprentice!
Go somewhere else!
No matter how good your art is, I don't take beggars!
Not bad...
Why do you want to join a workshop?
Because...
I don't want to go hungry anymore.
I want to live an honest life through my own power.
I love drawing...
I guess that's why...
Ouch!
I wonder, how many have I done?
One, two, three, four...
This really is going to be tough.
My hands...
It's fine! This is nothing.
I love art, so I can bear with my hands hurting and being tired.
♪ I love drawing, I love art ♪
I can't believe a girl from a noble family is trying to become an artisan.
I knew it'd be impossible.
It's just as I told you, isn't it?
The only way you'll have a decent life is if you get married.
That's not true!
Definitely...
I'll definitely...
...become an artisan!
My head's pounding...
I remembered something I didn't want to remember, so I ended up drinking too much...
And I didn't feel like going home since that girl was there... It was terrible.
Now... I wonder if she threw in the towel a long time ago and went home...
Leo?!
I'm sorry I fell asleep in a place like this!
No, that's fine, but...
You... You really finished the task I gave you, huh?
Yes, sir! I worked really, really hard!
What do you think?
I gave you this condition thinking you couldn't possibly do it...
Huh?
I had absolutely no intention of making you my apprentice from the start.
That's what I meant.
Oh, really?
Then, I'll have to find a different way to become an artisan.
Hey, wait.
You don't seem upset about this at all. You're not going to object or anything?
Well... I am really shocked, but...
How do I put it?
No one else would even hear me out just because I'm a girl.
But you looked at my drawings, and even listened to what I had to say.
Just that much made me so happy.
Besides, I felt a little guilty, too...
Guilty?
Yes. I lied to you earlier.
You asked me why I wanted to become an artisan, right?
Yeah.
I said it was because I love drawing, but I was trying to act a little too cool.
For me, becoming an artisan isn't a goal--it's a means to an end.
In reality, I did understand...
"I love drawing."
I didn't get this far on just that one neat and tidy emotion.
I was frustrated... Even angry...
That's what drove me to act.
I know just how hard it is for a woman to make a living by herself.
That's why... because all I have is art...
Rather than living in a birdcage,
even if it means I'll die by the side of the road somewhere...
I want to learn at a workshop
and find a path that lets me live through my own power.
I don't want to go hungry anymore.
I want to live an honest life through my own power.
Um, Leo?
Oh, it's nothing.
Why is it that even though our births and circumstances are different,
I see the past me when I look at her?
Well... I guess I should keep my promise, after all.
Okay. As promised, I'll make you my apprentice.
This time I mean it.
R-Really?! You'll really let me join your workshop?
You can't take it back later, you know.
Because you promised! You can't break your promise!
Quiet down. If you don't be quiet, then I'll call it off.
Then... I'm really...
I am not going to cry!
I mean, a boy wouldn't cry at a time like this, right?
What's the matter, Leo?
Oh, it's nothing.
I took in a weird one, huh?
Then, I look forward to working with you, Leo--
I mean, Master... right?
Master!
I told you, quiet down!
Wait a minute, Arte!
I will not allow it!
I don't care if you'll allow it or not.
I'm going no matter what you say, Mother.
What kind of foolish thing are you saying?
For a woman to say she wants to be an artist-- You will definitely regret this!
But, Mother, if I get married like this, I will also definitely regret it!
If I'm going to regret it either way,
then I want to have regrets doing what I want to do.
Oh, it's you...
You really came.
U-Um, I look forward to working with you starting today!
You don't need to stand on ceremony.
I'll show you where you'll sleep.
Yes, sir!
Starting today, I'm an apprentice artisan working at this workshop.
There's a shed built into the roof...
But it's dilapidated since it hasn't been used for a while.
Well, as the saying goes, there's no place like home, or something.
Starting today, this is your castle.
Once you fix it up, it should be pretty livable.
Do your best.
Huh?! I'm fixing this place up?! By myself?!
Anyway, will it really become livable?!
Huh? Do you want to live in it like this?
I don't care either way.
--Later.
--Huh? --Later.
Huh?!
I'm sleeping here today?
Where else would you sleep?
Unless you're saying you want to sleep with me?
No, thank you. I'll sleep here.
If I'm going to regret it either way,
then I want to have regrets doing what I want to do, right?
Yay! This is just what I wanted!
This is no good. It's so cold, I can't fall asleep.
I'll draw to distract myself!
When I look at it in the light, it's actually a pretty nice room.
This desk is broken, but cute.
I'll fix these shelves and put my art supplies on them.
Starting today...
Starting today, this is your castle.
All right, I'll do my best!
"Preview"
Somehow, I got made an apprentice, but will I be able to get along with Leo?
Hey, what are you dawdling for? Hurry up and clean the workroom!
"A New Life" Hey, what are you dawdling for? Hurry up and clean the workroom!
"A New Life" Even if he's strict, I'll do my best!
"A New Life" Next time, "A New Life."
"A New Life" It's starting!