Arte (manga)

Arte
Cover of Arte volume 1 by Tokuma Shoten
アルテ (Arute)
Manga
Written by	Kei Ohkubo
Published by	Tokuma Shoten
English publisher	NA: Media Do
Magazine	Monthly Comic Zenon
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	October 25, 2013 – present
Volumes	12
Anime television series
Directed by	Takayuki Hamana
Written by	Reiko Yoshida
Music by	Gorō Itō
Studio	Seven Arcs
Licensed by	Funimation
Original network	Tokyo MX, BS Fuji, ytv
Original run	April 4, 2020 – present
Episodes	12

Arte (アルテ, Arute) is a Japanese manga series by Kei Ohkubo. It has been serialized in Tokuma Shoten's seinen manga magazine Monthly Comic Zenon since 2013. It has been collected in eleven tankōbon volumes. The manga is licensed in North America by Media Do. An anime television series adaptation by Seven Arcs premiered on April 4, 2020.

Plot

In the early 16th century's Florence, Italy, Arte is the only daughter of the noble but decadent Spalletti household. Since her childhood, Arte has proved blessed with an unusual talent for painting, but when her father dies, her mother tries to force her to abandon her love for art and find a noble young man to marry as soon as possible in order to save the Spallettis from ruin.

Arte, however, refuses to give up her dreams, and, going against the beliefs of her time, she starts searching for a master painter to work for, hoping to one day become a master painter herself.

Her strong determination ultimately catches the attention of the young but well-known painter Leo, who finally accepts her as his apprentice.

Characters

Arte Spalletti (アルテ, Arute)

Voiced by: Mikako Komatsu

The heiress of the noble Spalletti household of Florence, since childhood she has proved being blessed with a deep love and talent for painting. To allow his daughter to satisfy her passion, her father had always provided her with the better teachers, but after his death her mother forces her to give up with her dream to become a master painter and become a spouse as soon as possible, saving like this their dying family from ruin. Determined to protect her dreams at all costs, Arte has ultimately left her house and her noble status behind and went in search for a master to become an apprentice of, defying all moral codes and way to think of her times. Her search ultimately led her to the young but already well-known painter Leo.

Leo (レオ, Reo)

Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi

A young painter with an unhappy childhood and a past as a beggar, he accepts after many hesitations to take Arte as his apprentice, above all because in her he sees himself when he had decided to pursue his vocation at the expense of his humble origins. Reluctant and of few words, but with remarkable talent, he has managed over the years to enter into the good graces of some of the most well-known exponents of the Florentine nobility.

Angelo Parker (アンジェロ, Anjero)

Voiced by: Junya Enoki

A young sculptor apprentice, he comes from a relatively wealthy family but was forced to go to the shop to help his father, magistrate of the Lordship, put aside the money necessary to pay the dowry of his five sisters. After falling in love with Arte at first sight, however, he was rejected by it, but since then a solid friendship continues between the two.

Veronica (ヴェロニカ, Veronika)

Voiced by: Sayaka Ohara

Rich, beautiful and pragmatic courtesan, she is the most desired woman in Florence, with an endless crowd of admirers and admirers. She takes a liking to Arte from their first meeting to the point of commissioning her portrait, which then becomes the debut work of the young painter. Later, the two become good friends, so much so that on various occasions Veronica will make use of her contacts in the nobility of Florence to facilitate the work of art.

Yuri (ユーリ, Yūri)

Voiced by: Kohsuke Toriumi

Venetian nobleman and skilled merchant, he accidentally got to know Arte after visiting Veronica during a visit to Florence. Remained bewitched by the talent and decisive character of Arte, he proposed that she go to Venice to become both the family painter and the tutor of her granddaughter, an assignment that the girl would also accept to get away from the moods that come from being in love with her teacher. Despite his business skills and competence have made his family's fortune, the relationship with his older brother Marco has long been flawed.

Catalina (カタリーナ, Katarīna)

Voiced by: M.A.O

The eldest daughter of Marco and Sofia dei Faliero (フ ァ リ エ ル 家 Farieruka), a family of noble merchants and among the oldest in Venice. Arte is summoned to Venice to be her label tutor, discovering very early that the girl is a real plague, who over the years has managed to get away all the teachers who came before her. In a second moment, Arte realizes that her allergy to the label is due in large part to the lack of affection on the part of the parents, with a father who refused her a priori preferring her little brother (to the point of having forced her to spend her early years of life away from home, in the family summer residence near Treviso) and a mother who is dominated by the will of her husband. Secretly passionate about cooking, she usually sneaks out of the house and organizes sumptuous banquets for the less well-off inhabitants of the city, all with the silent complicity of Uncle Yuri and part of the servants. Unbeknownst to his father, it is the result of an extramarital relationship had by Sofia with Yuri himself.

Dacha (ダーチャ, Dācha)

Voiced by: Kiyono Yasuno

Seamstress, the daughter of a farmer, has been working with the needle since she was a child. Previously she was jealous of the aristocracy of which Arte was a part, but she was impressed by her hard work and learned from her to read and write.

Media

Manga

No.	Release date	ISBN
1	April 19, 2014	978-4-19-980203-4
2	November 20, 2014	978-4-19-980242-3
3	June 20, 2015	978-4-19-980275-1
4	November 20, 2015	978-4-19-980309-3
5	June 20, 2016	978-4-19-980348-2
6	January 20, 2017	978-4-19-980391-8
7	July 20, 2017	978-4-19-980431-1
8	January 20, 2018	978-4-19-980473-1
9	July 20, 2018	978-4-19-980504-2
10	January 19, 2019	978-4-19-980544-8
11	July 20, 2019	978-4-19-980582-0
12	January 20, 2020	978-4-19-980611-7

Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced by Tokuma Shoten on July 19, 2019. The series is animated by Seven Arcs and directed by Takayuki Hamana, with Reiko Yoshida handling series composition and Chieko Miyakawa designing the characters. Gorō Itō is composing the series' music. It began airing on April 4, 2020 on Tokyo MX, BS Fuji, and ytv. Maaya Sakamoto performs the opening theme song "Clover", while Kiyono Yasuno performs the ending theme song "Hare Moyō".

On April 3, 2020, Funimation announced that they licensed the series for streaming in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Ireland.

No.	Title	Original air date
1	"I Want to Be an Apprentice" Transliteration: "Deshi iri shigan" (Japanese: 弟子入り志願)	April 4, 2020 (2020-04-04)
In 16th century Florence during the Renaissance, Arte, a daughter of a noble but poor family, is obsessed with drawing. After her father’s death her mother destroys her artwork, believing her obsession would repulse potential husbands. Rejecting marriage Arte decides to become an artisan and support herself. She visits local workshops, hoping to gain an apprenticeship, but is rejected due to being a woman. Humiliated, Arte cuts her hair and threatens to cut off her breasts, but is stopped by Leo, an unsocial local artisan. As a test Leo challenges her to prepare 20 wood panels for painting by morning. It is revealed this is unreasonably difficult and Leo set Arte up to fail as he deems her love of drawing trivial when compared to his struggle raising himself from a penniless beggar to a respected artisan. Arte, unwilling to admit defeat, works through the night, damaging her hands. Leo is surprised to find her passed out the next morning with the boards finished and admits he wanted her to fail. Arte admits she is determined to forge a life for herself using her own skills. Realising Arte is exactly like his younger self Leo makes Arte his official apprentice. Arte moves out of her family home, against her mother’s orders, and moves into Leo’s workshop, only to realise her room is a dilapidated shed on his roof. Regardless she decides to do her best as Leo’s apprentice.
2	"A New Life" Transliteration: "Shin seikatsu" (Japanese: 新生活)	April 11, 2020 (2020-04-11)
Leo provides Arte money to repair her shed but while carrying materials home she trips on her dress and is helped by painters apprentice Angelo Parker, who offers to carry her materials. Arte refuses to be thought of as helpless and ties up her dress for easier movement, outraging passers-by. She repairs her shed, managing not to cry when Leo compliments her work. Confused, Angelo returns home to his five sisters who rely on him for most of the housework. Angelo’s master, Danilo, rejects Arte’s request to sketch his newest statue due to being a woman. Angelo offers to sneak Arte in but Arte insists on convincing Danilo herself. Annoyed, Danilo tells Arte she can see the sculpture if she moves ten bags of clay, even though each bag requires two men. Determined, Arte ties up her dress again and figures out a way to carry them. Impressed, Danilo lets her sketch the statue, only to realise Arte strained her fingers and cannot grip her pencils, so he guiltily offers to let her come back whenever she wants. Angelo asks Arte to consider becoming Danilo’s apprentice with allowances made for being a woman, but Arte refuses, preferring Leo who is strict but treats her like a real apprentice. Impressed by her effort Angelo tells his sisters to try doing chores themselves before asking him. Leo is impressed by the new damage to Arte’s fingers, proving she has worked hard.
3	"First Job" Transliteration: "Saisho no shigoto" (Japanese: 最初の仕事)	April 18, 2020 (2020-04-18)
Leo decides to take Arte somewhere special, but insists she dress in mens clothing. While passing through carnival they meet Leo’s regular customer, a Courtesan. Leo takes Arte to observe a dissection, normally prohibited by the church except during carnival. Arte sketches the body to gain a better understanding of the human form, impressing Leo when she is not disgusted. Arte is accidentally revealed as a woman and since women observing dissection is against Church law they are forced to hide. Being so close Arte notices the ways men’s bodies differ visually from women’s before experiencing pain in her chest, confusing her. Leo asks Arte to sketch the Arno river for his newest painting of a woman. However, Leo rejects her sketch multiple times, depressing her, and eventually she admits she is stuck. Leo tells her to consider what is most important about the painting and she realises she focused on the background when focus should have been on the woman. After drawing a less detailed sketch Leo allows her to paint the background before handing it to the client. That night Leo informs Arte they must renew her contract with the town notary, which will include a pay rise. He also compliments her spirit, finding it much more appealing than the ladies who do nothing except obey their husbands. Arte suffers chest pains again.
4	"Courtesan" Transliteration: "Korutijāna" (Japanese: コルティジャーナ)	April 25, 2020 (2020-04-25)
Arte continues to overreact around Leo and wonders if she is ill. One of Leo’s regular customers, the courtesan Veronica, requests a portrait for a client. Arte is surprised to find Veronica is well educated and cultured. Veronica in turn is surprised Arte doesn’t judge her courtesan career, so she asks Arte to paint her portrait instead. Over several days Arte and Veronica become close, but Leo notices Arte’s distracted behaviour and scolds her. Arte confides in Veronica, who realises Arte is in love with Leo. As a warning of the dangers of love Veronica shows Arte a former courtesan who fell in love and began neglecting her clients and now works as a common street prostitute. Over the next few days Arte sees Veronica playing mind games on a client to keep him obsessed with her. Seeing his misery Arte confronts Veronica about her cruelty before leaving angrily. Arte struggles with the painting, unable to concentrate and eventually overreacts when a customer insults the hard work of her local baker. She suddenly realises Veronica also works hard at her job, despite the unpleasantness of her clients. Determined, she completes the painting and forces herself to act normally around Leo. Delivering the painting to Veronica she admits she cannot respect how she treats her clients, but she does respect how hard she works to support herself. Veronica accepts this and they remain friends.
5	"Inescapable Bond" Transliteration: "Kusare'en" (Japanese: 腐れ縁)	May 2, 2020 (2020-05-02)
Arte struggles with hunger due to Leo’s unusual meal practices. One of Leo’s least favourite customers, Ubertino, whom he has an “inescapable bond” with commissions a painting, but the colours he wants are so expensive Leo risks losing money and must negotiate. Arte offers to go in his place but her first attempt fails, so she asks Veronica to teach her conversational skills. She visits Ubertino again and, knowing he is a wool merchant, shows that she can also design lace patterns. Ubertino agrees to pay more despite having no personal interest in paintings, outside their usefulness as gifts to influential people. When she asks why Ubertino commissions Leo so often he angrily reveals it is due to their “inescapable bond”, and the fact he respected Leo’s master. Arte asks Leo about his youth and he reveals he had to beg for an apprenticeship as he was a homeless beggar, and only his master gave him a chance. Ubertino is pleased with the painting but berates Leo for spending all his money on quality painting supplies instead of a decent meal. Ubertino’s flashback shows he promised Leo’s master on his deathbed he would look after Leo. Arte realises Leo and Ubertino do care about each other in a dysfunctional manner and hopes to become that close to Leo.

External links

• Arte at Monthly Comic Zenon (in Japanese)
• Anime official website (in Japanese)
• Arte (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia