plate no. 7934

Ismenia

John William Godward, 1908

oil, canvasNeoclassicismportraitfigureportraitmarblecherriesdressfur

experienced study

Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in portraiture, including accurate skin tone mixing and rendering fabric folds. It will also improve their ability to depict realistic textures like marble and fur.

technical profile

palette complexity

brushwork visibility

value contrast

compositional simplicity

study guide

est. 25 hrs

approach — 8 steps

step 01
Sketch the basic composition, focusing on proportions and placement of the figure.
step 02
Block in the main color areas: skin, dress, background marble, and fur.
step 03
Begin refining the skin tones, paying close attention to subtle shifts in color and value.
step 04
Develop the folds and shadows in the dress, using thin layers of paint.
step 05
Add details to the marble background, capturing the veining and variations in tone.
step 06
Render the fur texture with small, controlled brushstrokes.
step 07
Paint the cherries and bowl, focusing on highlights and reflections.
step 08
Add final details and highlights to complete the painting.

color palette

primary · titanium white · yellow ochre · alizarin crimson · ultramarine blue

secondary · burnt umber · cadmium red · purple

Achieve skin tones by mixing white, yellow ochre, and alizarin crimson, with small amounts of ultramarine blue for shadows. The purple dress is a mix of alizarin crimson and ultramarine blue, lightened with white.

techniques