plate no. 5914

Boy in Hessian costume from the Schwalm area near Ziegenhain

oilRealismportraitportraitboyclothinghatfiguretable

some experience helpful

Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in portraiture, including capturing likeness and rendering textures like fabric and fur. It also provides practice in creating a sense of depth through subtle value changes.

technical profile

palette complexity

brushwork visibility

value contrast

compositional simplicity

study guide

est. 12 hrs

approach — 8 steps

step 01
Sketch the basic shapes and proportions of the boy, hat, and table.
step 02
Establish the background color with a thin wash of green.
step 03
Block in the main areas of color: the skin tones, the dark clothing, the fur hat, and the brown table.
step 04
Begin refining the skin tones, paying attention to subtle shifts in value and color.
step 05
Add details to the clothing, creating folds and shadows to give it dimension.
step 06
Work on the fur hat, using short, broken brushstrokes to simulate the texture.
step 07
Refine the background, adding subtle variations in color and value.
step 08
Add final details and highlights to the face, clothing, and hat.

color palette

primary · raw umber · titanium white · viridian

secondary · yellow ochre · cadmium red light · ivory black

Mix skin tones with white, yellow ochre, and a touch of red. Achieve the dark clothing color by mixing black, umber, and a touch of green. The fur hat is a mix of umber, white, and yellow ochre.

techniques

·portraiture
·scumbling
·dry brushing
·value studies
·glazing

common pitfalls

→Getting the proportions of the face wrong.
→Overworking the skin tones and making them look flat.
→Failing to create a sense of depth in the clothing and background.
→Making the fur hat look too uniform and lacking texture.

materials

surface · stretched canvas

required

·stretched canvas 12x16
·oil paints (raw umber, titanium white, viridian, yellow ochre, cadmium red light, ivory black)
·palette
·linseed oil
·turpentine or odorless mineral spirits
·#2 round brush
·#6 flat brush
·palette knife