plate no. 1013

African

oilRomanticismportraitportraitfigureclothingexpressionskin tonesfabric

what to study here

It shows how a dark head against a light ground, a warm-to-cool turn in the face, and varied edges can carry a portrait with very little else.

Study how the head is built as a dark shape against a light field. The background is a pale yellow-green, while the hair, beard and shadow side of the face sit near black. In a squint the picture reads as three masses: light ground, dark head, mid-value red garment. Then look at the face. The lit side stays in mid-dark values with a warm golden cast, and the shadow side turns cooler, so temperature does part of the modeling. Check the edges. The head meets the background softly, with some edges lost, while the garment edges are firmer where fabric crosses the shoulder, and the strokes follow the folds. The red is not one flat local color; it deepens in the folds. Red against yellow-green gives a complementary pairing that anchors the lower half. Light enters from the front left, and the head is placed off center and turned slightly, with direct eyes. Use this painting to practice value planning and edge control before worrying about exact color mixes.

key decision

The painter set a near-black head and beard against a pale yellow-green ground, so the figure separates by value alone. Edges around the head are left soft and partly lost.

recreation guide

Konstantin Makovsky’s 'African' (1882) represents a pivotal shift in the artist’s career, moving from strict realism toward a style that emphasizes color and shape, influenced by his travels to North Africa and Serbia in the mid-1870s (Source 8). As a member of the Peredvizhniki (Wanderers), Makovsky was known for opposing academic restrictions, yet his work during this period reflects a 'significant stylistic change' where he placed greater emphasis on the harmonic arrangement of form and color rather than mere documentary likeness (Source 8). The painting is an oil work, a medium that Makovsky, like his contemporaries, would have treated with the understanding that it possesses 'vital qualities peculiar to itself,' requiring the artist to express feeling through painted symbols rather than attempting a deceptive illusion of nature (Source 3).

estimated time

20-30 hours over 5-7 sessions

materials

6 items

steps

6 in sequence

materials

item	purpose	modern equivalent
Oil paints (artist grade)	Primary medium for the painting	—
Linseed oil	To mix with paint to adjust drying time and consistency	Refined linseed oil
Mineral spirits or turpentine	To thin paint for initial layers and clean brushes	Odorless mineral spirits (OMS)
Canvas	Support surface	Linen or cotton canvas, primed
Charcoal or thinned paint	For sketching the subject onto the canvas	Vine charcoal or raw umber thinned with solvent
Paintbrushes and palette knives	Application and scraping of paint	—

preparation

surface prep

The canvas should be prepared with a ground suitable for oil painting. While specific priming recipes for Makovsky are not detailed in the sources, traditional oil painting practice involves ensuring the surface is stable to prevent cracking. The artist must respect the 'limitations imposed by different mediums' and ensure the ground allows for the 'vital expression of nature' without the paint film becoming unstable (Source 3).

underdrawing

Traditional oil painting techniques often begin with the artist sketching the subject onto the canvas with charcoal or thinned paint (Source 2). Given Makovsky’s background in the Imperial Academy of Arts and his realist training, a precise underdrawing is likely, though the sources do not specify his exact preparatory sketches for this specific work. The drawing should establish the 'organization of an artwork' and the 'visual path that enables the eye to move within the piece' (Source 4).

underpainting

A grisaille (monochrome underpainting) is a recommended technique for this style. The artist should mentally extract red and yellow colors, translating what would be left in nature if these two colors were not present (Source 6). This monochrome layer establishes the values and forms before color is introduced. This method was 'practised by the old masters far more generally' and helps in achieving a 'grey bloom' or controlled tonal range (Source 6).

color palette

Ultramarine

Ultramarine pigment

General use in this artist's palette; specifically mentioned by Reynolds as a primary color for initial paintings (Source 6)

Black

Ivory black or lamp black

General use in this artist's palette; used for establishing dark values in the monochrome stage (Source 6)

White

Lead white or titanium white

General use in this artist's palette; used for highlights and mixing tints (Source 6)

Red and Yellow tones

Vermilion, cadmium red, yellow ochre, etc.

Applied via glazing and scumbling over the dry grisaille to introduce warmth and local color (Source 6)

composition

The composition should focus on the 'harmonic arrangement of form and color,' a principle emphasized by artists like Whistler who influenced the period's approach to portraiture (Source 7). Makovsky’s shift toward emphasizing 'colours and shapes' suggests that the composition should not rely solely on linear perspective but on the balance of visual elements such as line, shape, value, and texture (Source 4, Source 8). The portrait should serve as an 'expression of feeling' rather than a mere photographic record, using the medium's capacity to create 'painted symbols' (Source 3).

step by step

underdrawing→underpainting→first pass→refining→finishing→varnishing

underdrawing

step 01
Sketch the subject onto the canvas using charcoal or thinned paint to establish the basic forms and composition.
Tip — Ensure the sketch captures the 'visual path' for the viewer's eye.
Traditional underdrawing

underpainting

step 02
Create a monochrome grisaille using black, ultramarine, and white. Extract red and yellow tones to focus on value and form.
Tip — This layer should be quite dry before proceeding to avoid muddying the colors.
Grisaille

first pass

step 03
Apply glazes of red and yellow tones over the dry grisaille. Use oil as a medium initially.
Tip — Glazing is a transparent coat of color that allows the underlying painting to show through.
Glazing

refining

step 04
Use scumbling (semi-opaque painting) to adjust tones and create effects like a 'grey bloom' if needed.
Tip — Scumbling tends to coldness when employed over a darker ground.
Scumbling

finishing

step 05
Apply additional layers following the 'fat over lean' rule, ensuring each layer has more oil than the previous one.
Tip — Failure to follow this rule can cause the painting to crack and peel.
Fat over lean

varnishing

step 06
Once fully dry (up to two weeks), apply varnish if desired to unify the sheen.
Tip — Oil paint dries by oxidation, not evaporation.
Varnishing

critical techniques

Fat over Lean

A basic rule of oil paint application where each additional layer contains more oil than the layer below to ensure proper drying and prevent cracking.

Glazing and Scumbling

Glazing involves transparent coats of color, while scumbling is semi-opaque. These were used by old masters to build up color and tone, particularly useful for introducing red and yellow tones over a monochrome underpainting.

Monochrome Underpainting (Grisaille)

Painting the initial layers in black, ultramarine, and white to establish form and value before adding color.

common pitfalls

→Cracking and peeling due to violating the 'fat over lean' rule by applying lean layers over fat ones (Source 2).
→Attempting to deceive the eye with a meretricious illusion of nature rather than expressing feeling through the medium's vital qualities (Source 3).
→Over-modeling or being too tied down to the outline, which can be checked by studying works like Reynolds’s 'Portraits of Two Gentlemen' (Source 1).
→Smallness in execution, which can be avoided by selecting corrective copies that emphasize broad masses (Source 1).

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 the subject in 'African' (e.g., exact clothing patterns, jewelry, facial expression) are not described in the provided sources.
·Makovsky's specific brushwork style for this particular painting is not detailed, only his general shift toward color and shape.
·The exact pigments used by Makovsky in 1882 are not listed, only general traditional pigments like ultramarine and black are mentioned in the context of Reynolds' method.

grounded in

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

The Practice of Oil Painting↗
- ON COPYING — applied to Advice on avoiding smallness and over-modeling
- COLOURING A MONOCHROME — applied to Grisaille, glazing, and scumbling techniques
The Practice and Science of Drawing↗
- XX MATERIALS — applied to Philosophy of medium and avoiding deceptive illusion

cross-referenced from

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

Wikipedia: Oil painting↗
- Oil painting — part 2 — applied to Fat over lean rule, underdrawing, drying times
Wikipedia: Composition (visual arts)↗
- Composition (visual arts) — part 1 — applied to Elements of design and composition structure
Wikipedia: Portrait painting↗
- Portrait painting — part 16 — applied to Harmonic arrangement of form and color
Wikipedia bio — Konstantin Makovsky↗
- part 1 — applied to Artist's stylistic shift and biographical context

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

A three-quarter portrait of a man against a luminous pale yellow-green background, with warm golden light from the front-left animating the face and body. The subject wears a brilliant red garment that anchors the composition, creating a complementary color relationship with the yellow-green field. The head is angled slightly away from center, the eyes engaged and direct, the expression conveying quiet presence. Light reflects across the forehead and cheekbone, then moves into deep shadow on the far side of the face, with the beard and dark hair creating strong value anchors against the bright background.

value structure

The background is a mid-light pale yellow-green that reads nearly as a light against the very dark head. The darkest values live in the hair, the shadow side of the face, and the beard—nearly black. The lit side of the face sits in mid-dark territory, lifted only by the warm golden undertone. The red garment provides an intermediate red-brown that unifies the lower composition. Squint and you see a clear separation: light background, dark head, medium-red garment.

observed palette and mixes

#bad999
Yellow ochre + titanium white with a touch of raw umber
The background throughout, warmer near the top edge, cooler near the figure
#191e24
Burnt umber + ultramarine + touch of cadmium red
The deepest shadows in the hair and shadow side of the face, the beard
#711e19
Cadmium red deep + burnt umber + raw umber
The red garment throughout, shifting deeper in folds and shadow areas
#8d9562
Yellow ochre + raw umber + touch of cadmium red + white
The mid-tone skin on the lit side of the face and forehead
#cdeab2
Yellow ochre + titanium white, warmed with cadmium red
The brightest skin tones on the cheekbone and bridge of nose
#422121
Raw umber + cadmium red + ultramarine blue
The shadow side of the face and neck, cool undertones dominate

edges and brushwork

The head meets the background with soft, slightly lost edges—not carefully blended but naturally diffuse, allowing the figure to breathe. The garment's edges are slightly firmer where fabric crosses the shoulder, with visible brushstrokes following the direction of the folds. The face shows deliberate modeling with strokes that describe form rather than fill; you can see where the artist turned the head in the cheekbone transition from light to shadow.

a working sequence

01
Composition and light mapping
Lightly sketch the head position off-center, noting the slight tilt and the turn of the shoulders. Mark where the light is coming from: the front-left creates a strong lit plane down the center of the face and a shadow plane receding to the right. Identify the red garment as your second-largest shape after the background. This asymmetry is essential—don't center the head.
02
Establish the background
Paint the entire background in the pale yellow-green, slightly warmer near the top and edges. Mix this from yellow ochre + white with a small amount of raw umber to gray it slightly. The background should feel luminous. Don't paint around the head; paint over it; you'll develop the head shape on top. This builds the light foundation everything else sits in.
03
Block in the head and darkest values
Mix a very dark value (burnt umber + ultramarine + touch of red) and establish the entire head silhouette and the shadow side of the face as a mass. Use this same near-black for the hair. Don't model yet—just create the dark shape that reads against the pale background. The shadow side should extend from the right temple down past the jawline. This establishes the value contrast the entire portrait depends on.
04
Model the lit side with warm-cool balance
Mix two skin tones: a warmer golden tone (yellow ochre + white + touch of cadmium red) for the lit forehead and cheekbone, and a cooler earth tone (raw umber + white + hint of ultramarine) for the mid-shadow areas. Apply the warm tone to the lit side; layer the cool tone into the transition where light becomes shadow. The key is the shift from warm light to cool shadow—let the temperature change do the work rather than blending smooth.
05
Paint eyes, nose, mouth, and facial features
The eyes are where the portrait lives. Paint the iris with a dark mix (burnt umber + ultramarine), leaving a bright highlight in the upper-left that catches the light source. The whites are not pure white—they're the pale background color slightly warmed. Paint the nose with the warm mid-tone, allowing shadow underneath. The mouth shows teeth (white with a touch of yellow ochre) and darker lips. The beard is near-black, worked with a slightly softer edge where it meets the skin.
06
Paint the red garment and fabric volume
Mix the red from cadmium red + burnt umber, warming it toward red-brown. The upper shoulder where light hits is brighter, almost pure cadmium red. The folds and shadows shift toward maroon-brown (add more burnt umber and a touch of ultramarine). Paint the green accent at the neckline (raw umber + yellow + white) which provides a cool note and suggests an inner garment. The fabric should show dimension through value and color shift, not rendered detail.
07
Refine edges and harmonize
Soften edges where the head meets the background with a small dry brush or blending motion. Strengthen the darkest accents in the beard and hair where they define the face boundary. Ensure the eyes are reading clearly and the expression is present. Check the temperature balance: if the face feels muddy, the cool shadow side needs to read more distinctly. Make any final value adjustments—the brightest lights should be the cheekbone highlight and the eyes.

where studies of this painting go wrong

Mixing muddy skin tones by over-blending or using too much complement—the warm-cool distinction is what makes this face sing; preserve the separation between lit and shadow sides rather than smoothing them together.
Painting the eyes too small or making them symmetrical—these eyes are direct and slightly asymmetrical (the head is turned); they must feel present and alive.
Treating the red garment as a uniform local color—the folds and shadows matter; show volume through value shifts and subtle color temperature changes.
Overrefinishing the beard and hair until they become photographic—this portrait lives in loose, expressive technique; keep the suggestion and avoid rendering every detail.

measured difficulty