plate no. 3429

Portraif of a Venerable-Looking Old Man

oilBaroqueportraitportraitfiguremanclothinghandhair

recreation guide

This artwork, a portrait from 1666, falls within Nicolaes Maes’s mature period, characterized by a shift from the austere, dark-background style of his earlier works to a more Flemish-influenced approach introduced by van Dyck (Source 3). During this decade, Maes began employing staging and accessories typical of Flemish portraiture, moving away from the strict realism of his Rembrandt-trained youth toward a style that emphasized gesture, pose, and elegant presentation (Source 3). As a leading portraitist in Amsterdam and Dordrecht, Maes produced hundreds of portraits in standardized formats, often depicting half-length or three-quarter-length figures against dark or atmospheric backgrounds (Source 3). The painting likely reflects the 'lighter spirit' and refined brushwork that began to emerge in his work during the 1660s, balancing the structural rigor of his Dutch training with the elegance of Flemish aesthetics (Source 3).

estimated time

20-30 hours over 5-7 sessions

materials

5 items

steps

6 in sequence

materials

item	purpose	modern equivalent
Oil paints (Ultramarine, Black, White, Red, Yellow earth tones)	Primary pigments for underpainting and glazing	Artist-grade oil paints; Ultramarine blue, Ivory Black, Titanium White, Red Ochre, Yellow Ochre
Linseed oil	Medium for mixing paint and glazing	Refined linseed oil
Mineral spirits or turpentine	Thinner for initial layers and cleaning	Odorless mineral spirits (OMS) or Gamsol
Canvas or panel	Support surface	Linen canvas primed with gesso or oil ground
Varnish (optional for final glazing)	To mix with oil for final transparent layers, as practiced by old masters	Dammar varnish or synthetic resin varnish

preparation

surface prep

Prepare a canvas or panel with a traditional oil ground. While specific preparation for this exact piece is not detailed, Maes worked on canvas and panel during this period (Source 5). The surface should be smooth enough to allow for the fine detail characteristic of portraiture but textured enough to hold the brushstrokes of his mature style. A warm-toned ground (such as raw umber) is historically consistent with Dutch Golden Age practice to aid in tonal harmony, though a white ground is also possible for lighter effects.

underdrawing

Sketch the composition lightly using charcoal or thinned paint. Traditional oil painting techniques often begin with this step to establish proportions and likeness (Source 6). Given Maes’s focus on recognizable likeness and standardized formats (Source 3, Source 4), precise anatomical proportions are critical. Do not press too hard to avoid embedding carbon into the ground, which can cause discoloration over time.

underpainting

Create a grisaille (monochrome underpainting) using black, ultramarine, and white. This technique, described by Sir Joshua Reynolds and consistent with old master practices, involves establishing the tonal values before applying color (Source 1). Mentally extract red and yellow tones, focusing on the structural light and shadow. This layer should be allowed to dry completely before proceeding to glazing (Source 1).

color palette

Ultramarine

Pure ultramarine pigment

Underpainting shadows and cool tones, as noted in Reynolds' method cited in Source 1

Black

Ivory black or lamp black

Deep shadows and defining contours in the grisaille stage (Source 1)

White

Lead white (historically) or Titanium/Zinc white

Highlights and mixing with ultramarine/black for the grisaille (Source 1)

Red and Yellow Earth Tones

Red ochre, yellow ochre, vermilion

Glazing and scumbling to introduce flesh tones and warmth, applied over the dry grisaille (Source 1)

composition

Maes’s mature portraits from the 1660s often feature half-length or three-quarter-length figures, sometimes leaning against props like columns or rocks, set against dark backgrounds or terrace settings (Source 3). The composition likely emphasizes the sitter’s gesture and pose, reflecting the influence of van Dyck and Flemish portraiture (Source 3). The sitter is presented in an austere yet elegant manner, consistent with the transition in Maes’s style during this decade (Source 3).

step by step

underdrawing→underpainting→first pass→drying→refining→finishing

underdrawing

step 01
Lightly sketch the figure’s proportions and pose on the prepared surface using charcoal or thinned paint.
Tip — Ensure the likeness is accurate, as Maes was known for recognizable portraits (Source 4).
Traditional underdrawing

underpainting

step 02
Mix black, ultramarine, and white to create a grisaille. Paint the full tonal range of the portrait, excluding red and yellow hues.
Tip — Focus on the structural light and shadow. Imagine what the image would look like if red and yellow were absent (Source 1).
Grisaille underpainting

first pass

step 04
Apply transparent glazes of red and yellow tones over the dry grisaille. Use oil as a medium initially.
Tip — Treat the glazing like tinting an engraving with watercolors, allowing the underlying monochrome to show through (Source 1).
Glazing

drying

step 03
Allow the grisaille layer to dry completely. This may take several days to weeks depending on thickness and environment.
Tip — Do not proceed to glazing until the layer is hard to the touch to prevent muddying (Source 6).
Oxidation drying

refining

step 05
Use scumbling (semi-opaque painting) to adjust highlights and cool tones, particularly over darker areas to create a 'grey bloom' or atmospheric effect.
Tip — Be cautious with scumbling over dark grounds as it can introduce coldness; use it to refine edges and textures (Source 1).
Scumbling

finishing

step 06
Apply final glazes using a mixture of varnish and oil for deeper saturation and luminosity, if desired.
Tip — This technique was used by old masters to achieve rich color depth (Source 1).
Varnish glazing

critical techniques

Glazing and Scumbling

Maes and other old masters used transparent glazes over a dry monochrome underpainting to build color depth and luminosity. Scumbling was used for semi-opaque adjustments, particularly to create atmospheric effects or cool highlights (Source 1).

Fat over Lean

Each subsequent layer of paint should contain more oil than the previous one to ensure proper drying and prevent cracking. The initial grisaille is leaner, while glazes are richer in oil (Source 6).

Simultaneous Contrast Awareness

Be mindful of how adjacent colors affect each other. The lightest tones may appear lowered and darkest heightened due to contrast, requiring careful adjustment of flesh tones against the background (Source 2, Source 8).

common pitfalls

→Applying glazes before the underpainting is fully dry, which can lead to muddied colors and cracking (Source 1, Source 6).
→Ignoring the 'fat over lean' rule, causing the paint film to become unstable and peel (Source 6).
→Overworking the scumbling layer, which can introduce unwanted coldness or obscure the underlying structure (Source 1).
→Failing to account for simultaneous contrast, leading to inaccurate color perception in flesh tones against the background (Source 8).

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 details of the sitter’s clothing, accessories, or background elements are not described in the sources, so these must be inferred from Maes’s general style or left to the artist’s discretion based on period conventions.
·The exact pigment recipes used by Maes in 1666 are not provided, so modern equivalents are suggested.
·The specific dimensions and format (oval vs. rectangular) of this particular portrait are not specified, though Maes used standardized formats (Source 3).

grounded in

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

The Practice of Oil Painting↗
- COLOURING A MONOCHROME — applied to Underpainting, glazing, and scumbling techniques
Laws of Contrast of Colour↗
- 6. Put beside each other two flat tints... — applied to Color theory and tonal adjustment

cross-referenced from

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

Wikipedia bio — Nicolaes Maes↗
- Portrait painting — applied to Stylistic context, composition, and period conventions
Wikipedia: Oil painting↗
- Oil painting — part 2 — applied to Material handling, drying times, and fat-over-lean rule

Read more about the corpus on the sources page and how the guides are built on the methods page.

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