plate no. 3938

Portrait of a Bearded Man, possibly a Self Portrait

chalk, paperHigh Renaissanceself-portraitportraitmanbeardfacehair

recreation guide

This artwork, identified as a chalk drawing on paper from 1513, represents Leonardo da Vinci’s mature approach to portraiture, likely a self-portrait. It is distinctive for its reliance on the artist’s documented mastery of construction and proportion, where the figure is built synthetically from a scientific basis rather than through chance observation (Source 2). The work exemplifies the High Renaissance emphasis on the 'alphabet of our art,' requiring the artist to be a sound craftsman who understands the medium's capacities to reduce thoughts to visual form (Source 1). Unlike oil paintings of the period which might employ sfumato to create shadowy, elusive effects (Source 4), this chalk drawing relies on the specific vitality of the dry medium to express the human form’s structure and character without attempting to deceive the eye into seeing nature itself, but rather presenting painted (or drawn) symbols true to the emotional idea (Source 6).

estimated time

20-30 hours over 5-7 sessions

materials

5 items

steps

4 in sequence

materials

item	purpose	modern equivalent
High-quality drawing paper	Support for chalk application	Heavyweight cotton or rag drawing paper, toned if necessary
Red chalk (Sanguine)	Primary medium for modeling form and warmth	Soft red conté or natural red chalk
Black chalk	For deeper shadows and definition	Soft black conté or vine charcoal
White chalk or lead white	For highlights and contrast	White conté or white pastel
Blending stump or tortillon	To soften transitions and create the 'smoke' effect	Paper stump or cloth rag

preparation

surface prep

The surface should be prepared to accept dry media without excessive tooth that might break the chalk, yet with enough texture to hold the pigment. Leonardo’s practice involved a deep understanding of materials; the artist must find out the particular qualities of the paper and chalk to use them to the advantage of the drawing, never attempting more than the medium is capable of doing (Source 6).

underdrawing

The underdrawing should be approached with a 'synthetic method reasoned carefully from beginning to end,' where the element of chance is not allowed a place (Source 2). The artist must possess a keen sense of construction, understanding the bony structure and muscle attachment to render the form with success (Source 8). The outline should not be rigidly tied down; instead, the artist should check for faults in proportion early, ensuring that 'everything must dovetail and fit' like a map where no space is left over or wasted (Source 2).

underpainting

Not applicable for a chalk drawing on paper. However, the principle of building up tone applies: the artist should indicate decided shadows, marked half-tones, and internal drawing to judge proportion and prove the correctness of the outline (Source 2).

color palette

Warm earth tones (Red/Sanguine)

Red chalk

General modeling of the face and beard, consistent with the warm tone often found in Leonardo's chalk studies.

Deep shadows

Black chalk

Defining the beard, eye sockets, and deep folds, creating contrast.

Highlights

White chalk

Emphasizing the nose, brow, and cheekbones to create relief.

composition

The composition likely features the figure set at an oblique angle, a characteristic Leonardo employed in works like Saint Jerome and Virgin and Child with Saint Anne to create dynamic tension (Source 4). The focus is on the head and shoulders, with the eyes and hands (if visible) having no competition from other details, reflecting the unadorned nature of his portraiture (Source 4). The construction should be synthetic, ensuring that the proportions of the head and beard dovetail correctly without arbitrary adjustments (Source 2).

step by step

underdrawing→first pass→refining→finishing

underdrawing

step 01
Begin with a light, synthetic construction of the head and shoulders, focusing on the bony structure and muscle attachments. Ensure the proportions are correct before adding detail.
Tip — Check that all parts 'dovetail and fit'; if a feature seems out of place, look for a fault in another part of the map-like construction (Source 2).
Synthetic Construction

first pass

step 02
Apply red chalk to establish the general masses of light and shadow. Do not focus on fine details yet; instead, capture the 'broad masses' to avoid being tied down to the outline (Source 1).
Tip — Avoid 'smallness' or over-modeling early on. Use the chalk to indicate decided shadows and marked half-tones (Source 2).
Mass Modeling

refining

step 03
Introduce black chalk for deeper shadows and white chalk for highlights. Blend the transitions to create a soft, harmonious effect, reminiscent of looking at the model through a colored glass (Source 3).
Tip — Ensure the colors (tones) are harmonious, even if not 'true' to the absolute local color, to produce an agreeable effect (Source 3).
Sfumato-like Blending

finishing

step 04
Refine the facial features, particularly the eyes and mouth, to capture the elusive quality characteristic of Leonardo's work. Use subtle shading to create the 'shadowy quality' known as sfumato (Source 4).
Tip — The smile or expression should be 'so pleasing that it seems more divine than human,' achieved through subtly shadowed corners (Source 4).
Sfumato

critical techniques

Synthetic Construction

Building the figure from a scientific basis, ensuring all parts fit together logically without chance. This is essential for Leonardo's accurate representation of the human form (Source 2).

Sfumato

Creating soft, shadowy transitions that make the expression elusive and lifelike. This is a hallmark of Leonardo's style, described as 'Leonardo's smoke' (Source 4).

Harmonious Coloring

Using tones that are harmonious rather than strictly 'true' to the model, to create an agreeable visual effect. This involves selecting a dominant tone for the picture (Source 3).

common pitfalls

→Being too tied down to the outline and timid to depart from it, which leads to over-modeling and smallness (Source 1).
→Attempting to deceive the eye into thinking it is looking at real nature, rather than expressing feeling through the medium's vitality (Source 6).
→Ignoring the underlying construction, leading to proportions that do not 'dovetail and fit' (Source 2).

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 beard's texture and length are not described in the sources, so the artist must rely on general knowledge of Leonardo's self-portrait.
·The exact pose and angle of the head are not specified in the sources, though an oblique angle is suggested by general practice (Source 4).
·The specific type of paper used by Leonardo in 1513 is not detailed, so a modern equivalent must be chosen based on general period practices.

grounded in

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

The Practice of Oil Painting↗
- ON COPYING — applied to Advice on avoiding smallness and over-modeling, and the importance of broad masses (Source 1).
- FORESHORTENING OF THE LEGS LINES CONSTRUCTION OF THE FIGURE — applied to Synthetic construction method and proportion checking (Source 2).
Laws of Contrast of Colour↗
- 306-308 — applied to Harmonious coloring and the use of dominant tones (Source 3).
The Practice and Science of Drawing↗
- XX MATERIALS — applied to Understanding the vitality of the medium and avoiding mere deception (Source 6).
The Human Figure↗
- DRAWING THE HUMAN FIGURE — applied to Importance of anatomical knowledge and construction (Source 8).