plate no. 8188

Portrait of a Gentleman (The Earl of Sheffield)

oilBaroqueportraitfiguredogportraitlandscapecolumnsclothing

recreation guide

Nicolaes Maes’s 'Portrait of a Gentleman (The Earl of Sheffield)' represents the artist’s mature period, likely influenced by the Flemish style of portraiture introduced by Van Dyck, which Maes adopted during the 1660s (Source 3). Unlike his earlier austere portraits against dark backgrounds, this work likely employs staging and accessories characteristic of Flemish portraiture, potentially featuring a half-length or three-quarter-length figure (Source 3). The painting reflects Maes’s transition from the Rembrandtist chiaroscuro of his early genre scenes to a lighter, more elegant style that emphasizes gesture, pose, and the textures of clothing and hairstyles (Source 3). As a portrait, its primary intent is to achieve a recognizable likeness of the sitter, serving as a memorial record of a specific individual, consistent with the genre’s historical purpose (Source 5).

estimated time

20-30 hours over 5-7 sessions

materials

7 items

steps

5 in sequence

materials

item	purpose	modern equivalent
Oil paints	Primary medium for the painting	Artist-grade oil paints
Linseed oil	Medium to mix with paint for application and layering	Refined linseed oil
Mineral spirits or turpentine	Solvent to thin paint for underdrawing and initial layers, and for cleaning brushes	Odorless mineral spirits or turpentine
Canvas	Support surface	Primed linen or cotton canvas
Charcoal or thinned paint	For sketching the subject onto the canvas	Vine charcoal or raw umber thinned with solvent
Paintbrushes	Traditional tool for transferring paint to the surface	Hog bristle and sable brushes
Palette knives and rags	Alternative application methods and for scraping/removing wet paint if necessary	Flexible palette knives and lint-free rags

preparation

surface prep

The canvas should be prepared to accept oil paint. While specific ground recipes for Maes are not detailed in the sources, traditional oil painting techniques of the period involved preparing a surface that allows for the 'fat over lean' rule, ensuring each additional layer contains more oil than the one below to prevent cracking (Source 8).

underdrawing

Traditional oil painting techniques often begin with the artist sketching the subject onto the canvas with charcoal or thinned paint (Source 8). Maes, being a skilled craftsman, would likely have used this method to establish the composition and likeness before applying paint (Source 1).

underpainting

Maes applied Rembrandt's stylistic characteristics, including chiaroscuro, to his works (Source 2). This suggests an underpainting or initial layering approach that establishes strong contrasts between light and shadow. The 'fat over lean' rule dictates that initial layers should be leaner (more solvent, less oil) to allow proper drying of subsequent layers (Source 8).

color palette

Limited palette derived from Rembrandt

Earth tones, ochres, umbers, with selective highlights

General use in this artist's palette, particularly in his earlier works and genre scenes, though his later portraits show a lighter spirit (Source 2, Source 3)

Flesh tones

Fixed by the model's appearance

The sitter's face and hands, requiring careful observation to achieve likeness (Source 4, Source 5)

Clothing and accessories

Chosen by the artist to complement the sitter and setting

Draperies and ornaments, which can be selected to harmonize with the composition (Source 4)

composition

Maes’s mature portraits often used standardized formats: a small rectangular canvas for a half-length figure within a painted oval, or a larger format for a three-quarter-length figure leaning against a prop like a column or rock (Source 3). The setting was often a terrace or garden against a sunset sky (Source 3). The composition likely emphasizes the sitter’s gestures and poses, as well as the details of their clothes and hairstyles, reflecting the influence of Flemish and French portraiture (Source 3). The artist likely treated the interior or exterior space not as a shallow box but with a sense of depth, consistent with his innovations in structuring space (Source 2).

step by step

underdrawing→underpainting→first pass→refining→finishing

underdrawing

step 01
Sketch the subject onto the canvas using charcoal or thinned paint to establish the likeness and composition.
Tip — Ensure the likeness is recognizable, as this is the primary intent of portrait painting (Source 5).
Traditional oil painting underdrawing

underpainting

step 02
Apply a lean initial layer of paint to establish the basic tones and chiaroscuro effects, following Rembrandt’s influence.
Tip — Use more solvent than oil in this layer to ensure it dries properly and allows for subsequent layers (Source 8).
Chiaroscuro and fat over lean

first pass

step 03
Build up the forms with additional layers of paint, ensuring each layer contains more oil than the previous one.
Tip — Pay attention to the contrast of color and tone to produce spontaneous details and harmonize the composition (Source 4).
Fat over lean

refining

step 04
Refine the likeness and details of the clothing, accessories, and background, emphasizing gestures and poses.
Tip — Use brushes, palette knives, or rags to adjust texture and form as needed, taking advantage of oil paint’s slow drying time (Source 8).
Detailing and likeness refinement

finishing

step 05
Final adjustments to ensure the painting conveys the solemn dignity or elegant spirit appropriate to the sitter and period.
Tip — Avoid over-modeling or becoming too tied down to the outline, which can make the painting appear timid (Source 1).
Final glazing or scumbling

critical techniques

Chiaroscuro

Maes applied Rembrandt’s stylistic characteristics, including chiaroscuro, to create solemn dignity and depth in his works (Source 2).

Fat over lean

A basic rule of oil paint application where each additional layer contains more oil than the layer below to prevent cracking (Source 8).

Simultaneous contrast of color

Attention to the principles of color contrast helps harmonize the composition and produce spontaneous details (Source 4).

common pitfalls

→Over-modeling or becoming too tied down to the outline, which can make the painting appear timid and small (Source 1).
→Violating the 'fat over lean' rule, leading to cracking and peeling of the paint film (Source 8).
→Attempting to deceive the eye with meretricious naturalism rather than expressing the vitality of the medium (Source 7).
→Ignoring the specific capacities of the oil paint medium, leading to misdirected effort (Source 7).

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 pigments used by Maes for this particular portrait are not detailed in the sources.
·The exact dimensions and format (oval vs. rectangular) of 'Portrait of a Gentleman (The Earl of Sheffield)' are not specified, though general formats are described.
·The specific background setting (garden, terrace, or dark interior) for this particular portrait is not explicitly stated, though trends are noted.
·Detailed brushwork techniques specific to Maes’s later period are not fully described, only general influences.

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 over-modeling and the importance of being a skilled craftsman
Laws of Contrast of Colour↗
- 6. Put beside each other two flat tints... — applied to Principles of color contrast and harmonizing composition
The Practice and Science of Drawing↗
- XX MATERIALS — applied to Importance of understanding the medium’s capacities

cross-referenced from

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

Wikipedia bio — Nicolaes Maes↗
- part 3 — applied to Maes’s use of Rembrandt’s chiaroscuro and limited palette
- part 4 — applied to Evolution of Maes’s portrait style, formats, and Flemish influence
Wikipedia: Portrait painting↗
- Portrait painting — part 1 — applied to Purpose of portrait painting and achieving likeness
Wikipedia: Oil painting↗
- Oil painting — part 2 — applied to Traditional oil painting techniques, underdrawing, and fat over lean rule