plate no. 5917

Double portrait of a mother with her little son

oil, canvasNeoclassicismportraitportraitfiguremotherchildclothinghair

some experience helpful

Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in portraiture, including accurate proportions and subtle skin tone blending, as well as rendering realistic fabric folds and textures.

technical profile

palette complexity

brushwork visibility

value contrast

compositional simplicity

study guide

est. 20 hrs

approach — 8 steps

step 01
Create a light sketch outlining the basic shapes and proportions of the figures and their clothing.
step 02
Establish the background with a dark, muted tone, blending smoothly.
step 03
Block in the main skin tones for the faces and hands, paying attention to the light and shadow areas.
step 04
Begin refining the facial features, focusing on accurate placement and subtle value changes.
step 05
Develop the clothing, using layers of paint to create the folds and textures of the fabric.
step 06
Add details such as the hair, lace collar, and jewelry.
step 07
Refine the overall composition, adjusting values and adding highlights to create depth and dimension.
step 08
Add final details and glazes to unify the painting.

color palette

primary · titanium white · ivory black · raw umber · yellow ochre

secondary · burnt sienna · alizarin crimson · ultramarine blue

Achieve skin tones by mixing white, yellow ochre, raw umber, and a touch of alizarin crimson. Use ivory black and ultramarine blue to create the dark background. Mix yellow ochre and raw umber with white for the drapery.

techniques

·portraiture
·glazing
·blending
·chiaroscuro
·fabric rendering

common pitfalls

→Inaccurate proportions of the figures.
→Overly harsh or muddy skin tones.
→Lack of depth and dimension in the clothing.
→Neglecting subtle value changes in the faces.

materials

surface · stretched canvas

required

·stretched canvas 18x24
·oil paints (titanium white, ivory black, raw umber, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, alizarin crimson, ultramarine blue)
·round brushes (sizes 2, 4, 6)
·flat brushes (sizes 4, 8)
·palette
·linseed oil
·turpentine
·palette knife