From Europe, Armenians adopted various techniques such as printing, and found there sources of intellectual and philosophical inspiration, and examples of educational, institutional and societal reform. They also sought "models" of European liberation – the French Revolution, Greek and Polish uprisings, Italian Risorgimento and Garibaldism, Socialist movements – which they sometimes used as support for reforming the despotic empires in which they had settled. Often it was European settlements, or those in contact with European ideas, as far away as India, were sources of modernity. This is particularly true in the artistic field, in which many musicians, painters, and sculptors trained in European conservatories and schools of fine art. The Europe of Armenian artists was a reality.