plate no. 5494

09. Self Portrait in Front of the Easel of Vincent Van Gogh Paris 1888 by Anthony D. Padgett 2017

Anthony Padgett, 2017

oilPost-Impressionismsymbolic paintingportraitself-portraitartisteaselpalettefigure

what to study here

It shows how warm-against-cool broken color and plane-following strokes can model a face while a loose, flat background keeps attention on the figure.

Study how the face is built from temperature contrast rather than blending. Light comes from the upper left, so the left side of the face and beard sit in warm reddish-orange while the right side drops into cooler, shadowed blue-grays. Warm and cool marks are placed directly against each other, and form comes from that contrast, not from smooth gradation. Brushstrokes follow the planes: diagonal across the cheekbone, vertical in the beard. Look at the value structure too. The darks are concentrated in the beard, the right jaw and neck, and the jacket folds. The lights are the cream background and the face highlights. A large mid-tone zone binds them. The blue jacket with orange squares carries the most visual weight, and the squares are painted as chunky, imperfect strokes, not neat geometry. The background stays flat and loose so the figure holds the center. Structural edges (head, jaw, shoulder) are reinforced with confident dark lines. Copy the temperature logic first, then the stroke direction.

key decision

The painter modeled the face with warm orange-reds set directly beside cool blue-grays, leaving the strokes visible, so temperature contrast, not gradation, describes the form.

recreation guide

This artwork is a 2017 oil painting by Anthony D. Padgett, titled 'Self Portrait in Front of the Easel of Vincent Van Gogh Paris 1888'. It is classified as a symbolic painting in the Post-Impressionist style. The work engages with the history of Vincent van Gogh’s self-portraits, specifically referencing his time in Paris around 1886–1888, a period when van Gogh embraced Neo-impressionism and painted numerous self-portraits, often due to a lack of available models (Source 7). While the specific visual details of Padgett’s composition are not described in the provided sources, the work likely utilizes the traditional oil painting methods associated with the 'old masters' and Post-Impressionist techniques, such as glazing and scumbling, which were common practices for achieving depth and color harmony (Source 1). The painting serves as a symbolic dialogue with van Gogh’s oeuvre, potentially reflecting on the artist’s identity and the mirror-image nature of his self-portraits (Source 8).

estimated time

20-30 hours over 5-7 sessions

materials

7 items

steps

5 in sequence

materials

item	purpose	modern equivalent
Oil paints (various pigments)	Primary medium for the painting	—
Linseed oil	Drying oil for mixing paints and glazing; general purpose oil	—
Safflower or Poppyseed oil	For mixing lighter colors like white to prevent yellowing	—
Canvas	Support for the painting; preferred over wood for better pigment holding and resistance to cracking	—
Gesso or ground preparation	To prepare the canvas surface for oil application	—
Varnish	For final glazing and protection, mixed with oil for mastery-level glazing	—
Brushes	For applying paint, glazing, and scumbling	—

preparation

surface prep

Prepare a canvas support, as canvas became the standard support in Northern Europe and Italy from the 16th century onwards, offering better resistance to cracking and pigment holding than wood (Source 5). Apply a ground layer suitable for oil painting. While specific ground recipes for Padgett are not provided, traditional oil painting practice involves preparing the surface to accept the oil medium effectively.

underdrawing

The sources do not specify Anthony Padgett’s underdrawing technique. However, traditional oil painting practice often involves an initial sketch or underdrawing to establish composition. Given the symbolic nature and Post-Impressionist style, the underdrawing may be loose or integrated into the underpainting phase. No specific evidence suggests Padgett leaves preparatory clues visible in the final work.

underpainting

A grisaille (monochrome underpainting) is likely employed, as described in traditional oil painting practice. The artist mentally extracts red and yellow colors, translating what would remain in nature if these colors were absent, creating a tonal foundation (Source 1). This grisaille should be allowed to dry completely before proceeding to glazing and scumbling.

color palette

White

Lead white (historically) or modern titanium/zinc white mixed with safflower/poppyseed oil

General use in this artist's palette; lighter colors formulated with oils that yellow less (Source 2)

Red and Yellow tones

Various red and yellow pigments

Applied via glazing and scumbling over the grisaille to introduce color, mimicking the tinting of an engraving (Source 1)

Grey

Mixed with colors to break tones

To avoid monotony and achieve harmony of contrast, especially in remote planes or to distinguish parts (Source 3)

Complexion tones

Predominating color of the complexion, potentially including brown, bronzed, or copper tones

Portraiture; avoiding the error of assuming complexions are only red and white, especially for warmer regions or specific characterizations (Source 3)

composition

The specific compositional layout of Padgett’s painting is not described in the sources. However, van Gogh’s self-portraits often depicted his face as it appeared in a mirror, meaning his right side in the image is his actual left side (Source 8). Padgett’s work, being a symbolic painting referencing van Gogh, may engage with this mirror-image convention or the thematic elements of van Gogh’s Paris period, such as the adoption of city clothes to stress middle-class background (Source 7). The composition likely aims for distinct parts through the use of contrast and grey mixing to avoid monotony (Source 3).

step by step

underpainting→first pass→refining→finishing→varnishing

underpainting

step 01
Create a grisaille underpainting, mentally extracting red and yellow colors to establish the tonal structure.
Tip — Ensure the grisaille is completely dry before proceeding.
Grisaille

first pass

step 02
Apply glazes and scumbles using oil, introducing yellow and red tones as they occur in the design.
Tip — Glazing is a transparent coat of color; scumbling is semi-opaque, allowing the underlying painting to show through.
Glazing and Scumbling

refining

step 03
Use grey to break tones and avoid monotony, especially in remote planes, to ensure distinctness and harmony of contrast.
Tip — Mix colors with grey to prevent crudity or excessive intensity, using light tones of complementary colors if needed.
Harmony of Contrast

finishing

step 04
Refine the complexion by identifying the predominating color and faithfully reproducing it, avoiding simplistic red-and-white assumptions.
Tip — Consider brown, bronzed, or copper tones for complexity and beauty, especially if depicting a specific character or region.
Portrait Color Theory

varnishing

step 05
Apply a final varnish, potentially mixed with oil, for mastery-level glazing and protection.
Tip — Use varnish and oil mixed only when sufficient mastery is gained, as per traditional practice.
Varnishing

critical techniques

Glazing

A transparent coat of color applied over a dry underpainting to build depth and luminosity, as practiced by old masters (Source 1).

Scumbling

A semi-opaque painting technique where the underlying layer shows through, useful for creating grey blooms or coldness over darker grounds (Source 1).

Harmony of Contrast

Using grey to break tones and mix colors to avoid monotony and ensure distinctness in portrait painting, particularly in remote planes (Source 3).

Fat over Lean

Layering increasingly thick layers of paint over thinner ones, a principle of oil painting that allows for effective layering and texture (Source 5).

common pitfalls

→Applying glazes or scumbles before the underpainting is completely dry, which can lead to mixing and muddiness (Source 1).
→Assuming complexions are only red and white, ignoring the beauty of brown, bronzed, or copper tones (Source 3).
→Using linseed oil for white pigments, which may yellow on drying; use safflower, walnut, or poppyseed oil for lighter colors (Source 2).
→Ignoring the principle of harmony of contrast, leading to monotony or lack of distinctness in the portrait (Source 3).

what the sources don't tell us

Where the corpus is silent, we say so rather than guess. These are the gaps a complete recreation guide would normally cover that our source passages don't.

·Specific visual details of Anthony Padgett’s 'Self Portrait in Front of the Easel of Vincent Van Gogh Paris 1888' are not described in the sources, such as exact clothing, background elements, or facial expression.
·Anthony Padgett’s specific personal technique or palette preferences are not detailed; the guide relies on general Post-Impressionist and traditional oil painting practices.
·The exact date and place of van Gogh’s referenced self-portraits are debated, but the guide assumes the Paris 1886-1888 context based on the title (Source 7).
·No information on Padgett’s use of modern materials or deviations from traditional methods.

grounded in

The technical procedure in this guide traces to the following classical art-instruction texts.

The Practice of Oil Painting↗
- COLOURING A MONOCHROME — applied to Underpainting, glazing, and scumbling techniques
Laws of Contrast of Colour↗
- 328-331 — applied to Color harmony, contrast, and portrait complexion theory

cross-referenced from

Named facts about this artwork and artist were checked against these reference pages.

Wikipedia: Oil painting↗
- part 4 — applied to Materials, drying oils, and pigment properties
Wikipedia bio — Vincent van Gogh↗
- part 2 — applied to Context of van Gogh’s self-portraits in Paris
- part 1 — applied to Mirror-image convention in van Gogh’s self-portraits
Wikipedia: Portrait painting↗
- part 8 — applied to Canvas support and oil painting layering principles

Read more about the corpus on the sources page and how the guides are built on the methods page.

read from the painting

observed from the image, not the label

6 dominant colors, measured

what the eye sees

The artist dominates the center-left, facing slightly toward the viewer with a direct, composed gaze. Light falls from the upper left, modeling the left side of the face and beard in warm reddish-orange while the right side drops into cooler, shadowed tones. The striking blue jacket with orange geometric squares anchors the torso and commands visual weight. To the right, the yellow easel and pale canvas silhouette frame the figure, while the loaded palette in the lower foreground — crowded with reds, greens, and yellows — announces the artist at work. The warm cream background stays relatively flat and soft, ensuring the figure holds center stage.

value structure

The darkest values anchor the beard, the deep shadows on the right jaw and neck, and the blue jacket's shadowed folds. The lightest lights sit on the left forehead, the cream background, and scattered highlights on the cheekbones. Mid-tones dominate — the orange-red hair, the face's modeling planes, and the transitional areas where warm and cool meet. Squint and you see three distinct groups: deep darks (beard, jacket shadow), luminous lights (cream field, face highlights), and a rich mid-tone zone binding them together.

observed palette and mixes

#50698d
Prussian blue + ultramarine + touch of violet
Jacket base, deep shadows in beard and right side of face, defining darks
#b26d41
Burnt sienna + cadmium red + raw sienna
Hair, beard, and orange-red squares on the jacket pattern
#e1c488
Yellow ochre + cadmium yellow light + titanium white
Easel, palette wood, and warm mid-tone modeling throughout the face
#b88b59
Raw sienna + burnt umber + cadmium red
Shadow transitions in the beard and darker modeling tones in the face
#e6dab1
Titanium white + yellow ochre + touch of cadmium yellow
Background, face highlights, and the cream field that makes the figure sing
#beb79a
Raw sienna + titanium white + touch of ultramarine
Subtle mid-tone transitions and soft modeling passages

edges and brushwork

Every edge here is intentional and alive — nothing is softly blended away. The face is built with broken color: warm orange-reds placed directly against cool blue-grays, creating form through contrast rather than gradation. Strokes follow the direction of the planes — diagonal marks across the cheekbone, vertical gestures in the beard. The jacket shows bold, chunky directional marks; the orange squares are not perfect but painted with visible, chunky strokes. Major structural edges (head outline, jaw, shoulder) are reinforced with confident dark lines. The background stays loose and gestural, letting the figure's precise marks hold focus.

a working sequence

01
Block in composition with diluted wash
Using a mix of burnt sienna and ultramarine thinned with turpentine, lightly establish the head's oval, the shoulders' width, and the key objects: easel on the right, palette in the foreground. Keep it loose—you're mapping spatial relationships, not drawing fine detail. Squint to check proportions; the head should be roughly one-seventh of the total height.
02
Lay in major value and color masses
Paint the background cream (#e6dab1) first—a soft, uniform field. Block in the jacket as a dark blue (#50698d), leaving the shoulders' edges soft. Establish the head mass with a warm ochre-tan (#e1c488) as your mid-tone foundation. These large shapes will guide everything that follows; don't worry about accuracy yet—aim for the general color family and value range.
03
Build the face with warm-cool broken color
Mix a warm orange-red (#b26d41) and a cool blue-gray (Prussian blue + touch of raw sienna). Apply the warm tones to the left side of the face—cheekbone, left temple, the bridge of the nose. Place the cool tones on the right side—shadowed jaw, right temple, right side of the nose. Let the colors sit adjacently; don't blend them smooth. This temperature contrast creates form. Add ochre mid-tones (#e1c488) to the nose and between warm and cool zones for transition.
04
Develop the hair and beard with expressive marks
The hair and beard are built with layered strokes of warm orange-red (#b26d41) and burnt sienna (#b88b59). Apply color in the direction of hair growth—forward strokes across the crown, downward marks in the beard. Leave the cream background showing through in places to suggest form. Darken the beard's shadow edge (right side) with a warm dark brown. Don't smooth; each brushstroke should remain visible as a gesture.
05
Paint the facial features with precision
Now refine the eyes, nose, and mouth. The eyes sit in shadow on the right, lighter on the left. Use a dark line (Prussian blue + burnt sienna) for the eye socket on the right; add a light eye highlight on the left. The nose is defined by the warm-cool edge between the face planes—no need for detail outline. The mouth is a simple red line with shadow beneath. Keep marks economical; post-impressionist portraiture avoids fussy detail.
06
Paint the blue jacket and orange pattern
Begin with the jacket's base blue (#50698d), following the form of the shoulders and chest. While still wet, indicate the orange squares (#b26d41) with chunky, gestural marks—they're not perfect geometry, but expressive strokes placed rhythmically across the blue field. The jacket's edge where it meets skin should show some soft modeling (darker blue in folds), but keep it painterly. Add darker blue shadows on the right shoulder where the fabric falls.
07
Develop the palette and foreground
Paint the palette wood in golden tan (#e1c488) with a darker umber shadow edge. Place the paint dabs on the palette with direct hits of color—reds, greens, blues, yellows. The palette can be loose and impressionistic here; the focus is showing an artist's working surface. Paint the brush handle in dark brown or Prussian blue, and the bristles in light cream or white. This foreground should feel immediate and fresh.
08
Establish the easel and background canvas
Paint the easel structure in golden tan (#e1c488) with warm and cool shadows to show dimension. The canvas on the easel is predominantly light cream or pale yellow-white with subtle gray modeling to suggest it's a flat plane. The easel acts as a vertical accent on the right; keep it confident but secondary to the portrait. A few dark definition lines in brown or blue tie it to the composition.
09
Step back, integrate, and add finishing gestures
View from arm's length. Does the figure read as a unified whole? Soften any harsh transitions if needed by dry-brushing or gentle strokes. Reinforce key edges—the outline of the head, the shoulder line—with darker broken lines. Add any final gestural marks to the background (diagonal strokes, color flecks) to echo the energy of the face and jacket. A few well-placed strokes beat over-rendering; stop while the painting still breathes.

where studies of this painting go wrong

Blending the face until it looks photographic — this style thrives on visible brushstrokes and broken color. Resist the urge to smooth transitions; let warm and cool sit side by side.
Making the jacket pattern too uniform or geometric — the orange squares should feel gestural and slightly off-grid, painted with visible chunky strokes, not carefully rendered.
Losing the warm-cool temperature contrast that creates the portrait's form — the cool shadows on the right and warm lights on the left are structural, not atmospheric. Protect them.
Overworking the background or palette — they frame the figure but shouldn't compete. Keep them loose, soft, and secondary. The portrait is the story.
Rendering the eyes too realistically — post-impressionist portraiture hints at eyes with color and edge, not detail. A single dark line and a light glint often suffice.

measured difficulty