plate no. 6950
Miss Elizabeth Williamson
John Singer Sargent, 1925
recreation guide
Miss Elizabeth Williamson (1925) is a charcoal portrait by John Singer Sargent, executed in his later years. While Sargent is most famous for his oil portraits, this work demonstrates his mastery of dry media. The artwork is distinctive for its reliance on the artist’s established method of capturing likeness through direct observation and broad, confident handling of tone rather than intricate line work. Sargent’s general practice involved working directly without extensive preliminary sketches, aiming to capture the sitter’s character in a limited number of sittings. This charcoal study reflects that efficiency, likely serving as a finished character study or a preparatory exercise in tonal modeling.
estimated time
4-6 hours over 1-2 sessions
materials
6 items
steps
5 in sequence
materials
| item | purpose | modern equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| High-quality charcoal sticks (vine or willow) | For blocking in masses and drawing outlines | — |
| Compressed charcoal | For deep darks and high contrast areas | — |
| Kneaded eraser | For lifting highlights and correcting mistakes, as charcoal offers little resistance to erasure | — |
| Tortillon or blending stump | For softening transitions between light and shadow masses | — |
| Hand mirror | To compare the drawing with the sitter from a distance, ensuring accurate proportions and likeness | — |
| Fixative spray | To fix the charcoal if further layers or oil paint are to be applied over it, though likely not needed for a finished charcoal piece | — |
preparation
surface prep
Sargent typically prepared his own canvases for oil paintings, but for charcoal studies, he likely used a toned or neutral-toned paper to facilitate the establishment of half-tones. The surface should be smooth enough to allow for fine detail but textured enough to hold the charcoal grain. No specific ground preparation is cited for this charcoal work, but Sargent’s general practice involved meticulous preparation of his materials.
underdrawing
Sargent seldom used pencil or oil sketches, preferring to lay down the medium directly. For this charcoal portrait, the underdrawing would consist of strong, square-lined blocks of shadow shapes to establish proportion and mass, rather than delicate contour lines. The focus is on the 'scaffolding' of the form, noting the shapes of shadows carefully and blocking them out in true proportion relative to each other (Source 1).
underpainting
Not applicable for a charcoal-only work. However, if this were an oil portrait, Sargent would have used a scumbled tone of raw umber and white to establish half-tones before mapping out lights and darks (Source 1). For charcoal, the equivalent is establishing the mid-tone ground of the paper or lightly toning the entire surface to work both up to the lights and down to the darks.
color palette
Black/Dark Grey
Compressed charcoal
Darks and deep shadows, creating variety in tone
Mid-Grey
Vine charcoal or blended compressed charcoal
Half-tones and transitions between light and shadow
White/Light Grey
Paper tone or lifted charcoal
Highlights and light masses, where the charcoal is thinnest or erased
composition
Sargent’s portraits often feature a simple background to focus attention on the sitter’s face and hands. He would review the client’s wardrobe to pick suitable attire, suggesting the clothing in this portrait was chosen for its tonal and textural compatibility with the sitter’s features. The composition likely emphasizes the head and hands, with the rest of the figure and background rendered more broadly, consistent with his practice of completing the face first (Source 4).
step by step
underdrawing→first pass→refining→finishing
underdrawing
step 01
Draw the outlines of the masses strongly in charcoal, focusing on the shapes of the shadows. Block them out in square lines to ensure true proportion relative to each other, ignoring minor details.
Tip — Trouble about little else; this is the scaffolding for the form.
Blocking in masses
first pass
step 02
Establish the half-tones by lightly toning the entire surface or using the paper’s natural tone. Map out the shapes of the light masses, noting where they come sharply against the half-tones and where they merge softly.
Tip — Observe the gradation of light and shadow carefully.
Tonal mapping
refining
step 03
Add the darks, varying the pressure to create lighter and darker values within the shadow masses. Use a dry brush or blending tool to model the form, ensuring the thinner parts of the charcoal application are lighter.
Tip — Variety in the darks is achieved by varying the thickness of the charcoal application.
Modeling with charcoal
finishing
step 04
Refine the likeness by adding details to the eyes, hair, and hands. Use a kneaded eraser to lift highlights and correct mistakes. Compare the drawing with the sitter using a hand mirror from a distance to check proportions and likeness.
Tip — Make all corrections in the charcoal stage; do not hesitate to erase and redraw.
Final adjustments
step 05
Add final refinements and correct any remaining mistakes. Ensure the contrast between light and dark is balanced and the likeness is recognizable.
Tip — Avoid over-modeling; keep the broad masses intact.
Final polish
critical techniques
Blocking in masses
Sargent and other master portraitists began by drawing the outlines of masses strongly, focusing on shadow shapes and proportions rather than details. This creates a solid foundation for the form.
Tonal variation through pressure
In charcoal, variety in tone is achieved by varying the thickness of the application. Thinner applications are lighter, while thicker applications are darker, allowing for subtle gradations within the shadow masses.
Using a mirror for comparison
Placing the drawing alongside the sitter and viewing it in a hand mirror from a distance helps to identify errors in proportion and likeness that are not visible when working up close.
common pitfalls
- →Focusing on details too early, which can lead to a loss of overall proportion and mass.
- →Over-modeling the face, which can result in a muddy or indistinct likeness.
- →Failing to correct mistakes in the charcoal stage, which can lead to a cluttered and unclear final image.
- →Neglecting to compare the drawing with the sitter from a distance, leading to errors in scale and proportion.
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.
- ·The specific pose and expression of Miss Elizabeth Williamson are not described in the sources.
- ·The exact type of paper or surface used for this charcoal study is not specified.
- ·The duration of the sittings for this specific work is not recorded, though Sargent typically required 8-10 sittings for oil portraits.
- ·The presence or absence of symbolic elements or specific background details is not described.
grounded in
The technical procedure in this guide traces to the following classical art-instruction texts.
The Practice and Science of Drawing↗
- SET OF FOUR PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE SAME PAINTING FROM A CAST IN DIFFERENT STAGES — applied to Underdrawing, tonal mapping, and refining steps
The Practice of Oil Painting↗
- PAINTING FROM LIFE — applied to Use of mirror for comparison and correction in charcoal stage
cross-referenced from
Named facts about this artwork and artist were checked against these reference pages.
Wikipedia: John Singer Sargent↗
- part 7 — applied to General working methods and lack of preliminary sketches
Wikipedia: Portrait painting↗
- part 5 — applied to Focus on face and hands, and completion order
Read more about the corpus on the sources page and how the guides are built on the methods page.
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