English Dub Review: Arte “First Job / Courtesan”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Arte runs an errand while the festivities of Carnevale are in full swing. After coming back from the errand Arte is requested by Leo that she change into men’s clothes and they go see a dissection and Arte draws however after an attempt to get close she’s revealed to be a woman. They run and hide behind crates, and Arte starts feeling nervous with the close proximity to a man for the first time. Then Leo asks her to paint the background for a client’s painting. After multiple attempts and rejections from Leo, Arte asks for help and after getting a helpful hint from Leo Arte goes back for one final sketch which he approves of, and she works on the painting’s background. After completing the painting and seeing the client’s expression, Arte continues to sketch while burning up the candle. Leo comes in with a revised contract that has a decent raise for Arte to look over before heading down for the night as Arte struggles with the sudden pain in her chest.

In the next episode, Arte accompanies Leo to see Veronica, the courtesan she met during Carnevale. Veronica commissions a painting of herself and decides to let Arte be the one to paint it after taking a liking to the younger woman. However, Arte is distracted whenever Leo is too close to her and it is starting to affect her work. One day at Veronica’s Arte admits to feeling lost and confides in Veronica who concludes that she’s fallen in love. The next day Veronica takes her to see a former popular courtesan, who fell in love and how it drastically affected her work. Then Arte sees the effects of Veronica’s skills on one of her customers who waited for days to see her and storms off. However, after standing up against a nobleman for the baker she frequently goes to she realizes the parallel to Veronica. After handing Veronica the finished portrait and a bit of discussion with the courtesan, Arte, and Veronica part as friends.

Our Take:

Arte is growing on me with each episode as Arte continues her training under Leo. It’s great to see that the misogyny is kept on the down-low as the series leans in more on the artistic process in these episodes. It’s also been educational with Carnevale and the dissections. Dissections for example were used to study the insides of humans in order to draw better. It was rare and costly to arrange one which would be hard for a small workshop like Leo’s. It’s realistic detail that draws people in on the world and society of Florence. There are also moments like the baker advising on the new method for the dough and how Arte had to sit for long hours to sketch the river for the background that makes the world of the series more believable to me personally.

However, when Arte’s chest started hurting during the escape from angry men, I dreaded the events that would come after. It was leading to a romance that felt unnecessary considering Arte’s goal was to make her own path. Thankfully the series wasn’t going down that route with the events of the fourth episode concluding Arte’s infatuation. Furthermore, the fact that Veronica advises Arte on matters is good since it helps broaden Arte’s experience as a woman living in that era. In addition to that Veronica lets Arte see the cruel consequence of falling in love with their visit to the formerly popular courtesan who struggles to make a living. That was a good eye-opening scene for Arte and those moments get her to focus on her task of completing the painting.

Now there is Arte’s reaction to Veronica’s methods to the man that kept waiting for the courtesan. It was expected especially with Veronica’s words on how she knew that the other would be disappointed when Arte angrily commented on her cruel methods. However, after the incident with the baker Arte realizes Veronica’s occupation is similar to the bakers and how hard they work. The scene that wrapped that minor conflict up was nice especially with them becoming friends. It’s great to see Arte develop relationships with other people in the series since it gives a broad perspective on the people in Florence society during that era.

Overall both episodes were great especially with how the voice actors complimented their characters. I can’t wait to see how Arte continues to grow in the next episode.