plate no. 2592

Portrait of a man with beard

oilRealismportraitportraitmanbeardfacehairclothing

recreation guide

This artwork, 'Portrait of a man with beard' (1879), represents Gustav Klimt during his early academic and realist period, prior to his later association with the Vienna Secession and Symbolism. At this stage, Klimt was working within the tradition of historical realism, often collaborating with Franz von Matsch and Ernst Klimt in the 'Künstlercompagnie' to execute commissions that required rigorous draftsmanship and traditional oil painting techniques (Source 6). The work is characterized by a serious, closed-lip expression typical of 19th-century portraiture, aiming to reveal the subject's inner character rather than fleeting emotion (Source 2). The medium is oil, utilizing the standard materials of the era, including linseed oil and traditional pigments, applied with a focus on modeling form through light and shadow rather than the decorative flatness of his later style (Source 3, Source 4).

estimated time

20-30 hours over 5-7 sessions

materials

5 items

steps

5 in sequence

materials

item	purpose	modern equivalent
Oil paints (traditional pigments)	Primary medium for the portrait	Modern tube oils, though historically lead white was dominant for opacity and fast drying (Source 3)
Linseed oil	Drying oil binder for pigments; general purpose medium	Refined linseed oil
Canvas or linen support	Surface for painting; linen was a common support derived from the flax plant (Source 3)	Primed linen canvas
Charcoal or graphite	Underdrawing to establish proportions and salient passages	Vine charcoal or graphite pencil
Siccative (optional)	To accelerate drying time if needed, historically litharge was used (Source 3)	Cobalt drier or modern alkyd mediums

preparation

surface prep

The support should be prepared with a traditional ground suitable for oil painting. While specific priming details for this 1879 work are not explicitly detailed in the sources, Klimt’s academic training at the Kunstgewerbeschule would have involved standard practices of the time, likely involving a gesso or oil-based ground on linen to ensure proper adhesion and tooth for the oil layers (Source 6, Source 3).

underdrawing

Begin with a careful underdrawing to establish the 'salient passages' and proportions. Klimt’s early work was grounded in academic realism, requiring precise draftsmanship. The drawing should focus on the structural planes of the head and the beard, ensuring the outline is accurate before applying paint, as the artist was trained to be a 'sound craftsman' with knowledge of his medium (Source 1, Source 6).

underpainting

Apply a thin layer of paint to establish the main modeling of the face. Use three tone colors to roughly suggest the protruding and receding planes of the head. This step is crucial for establishing the volume before refining details. The goal is to model the head as a whole, thinking less of individual features and more of the overall form (Source 4).

color palette

Flesh tones (various)

Earth tones, lead white (historically), and subtle color complements

Modeling the face, preserving the shape of masses

Beard tones

Dark earths, blacks, and browns

The beard, treated as shapes of shadows, middle color, and lights rather than individual hairs

Background tones

Neutral or dark tones

To contrast with the subject and allow the outline to soften into the background

composition

The portrait likely follows a 'head and shoulders' or 'half-length' composition, typical of the genre. The subject’s head may be in a three-quarter view, which allows for a more dynamic representation of character than a full face or profile (Source 2). The expression is likely serious, with a closed lip, as this was the standard for conveying moral quality and character in 19th-century portraiture (Source 2).

step by step

underdrawing→underpainting→first pass→refining→finishing

underdrawing

step 01
Sketch the head and shoulders, focusing on the structural planes and the outline of the beard. Ensure the proportions are accurate.
Tip — Think of the head as a series of protruding and receding planes rather than just features (Source 4).
Academic draftsmanship

underpainting

step 02
Apply three tone colors to model the head as a whole. Establish the main shadows, middle tones, and lights.
Tip — Do not attempt to separate hairs in the beard yet; treat it as a mass of shadow and light (Source 4).
Blocking in masses

first pass

step 03
Refine the flesh tones, preserving the shape of the masses. Model the features while keeping the paint wet together to allow for blending.
Tip — Compare the color tendency of the flesh shadows with the shadows of the hair to ensure color harmony (Source 4).
Wet-in-wet modeling

refining

step 04
Elaborate on the details, particularly the eyes and eyebrows, which are crucial for conveying character and emotion.
Tip — The eyes provide the most reliable information about the subject; use the eyebrows to register subtle emotions (Source 2).
Detail work

finishing

step 05
Soften the outline of the head into the background sparingly to maintain freshness and character of the brushwork.
Tip — Avoid over-blending; frank touches give vitality to the painting (Source 4).
Edge control

critical techniques

Modeling form through light and shadow

Klimt’s early work relied on realistic modeling of the head as a whole, using three tone colors to suggest main modeling before elaborating on details (Source 4).

Treating hair as mass

Instead of painting individual hairs, the beard and hair should be treated as shapes of shadows, middle color, and lights, similar to silk or satin (Source 4).

Color complementarity

Every color mass is the complement of its neighbor; compare flesh shadows with hair shadows to determine color tendencies (Source 4).

common pitfalls

→Over-modeling or being too tied down to the outline, which can make the painting look stiff. If this occurs, study works like Reynolds’s 'Portraits of Two Gentlemen' to learn how to depart from strict outlines (Source 1).
→Attempting to separate individual hairs in the beard too early, which can lead to a 'small' or fussy appearance. Treat the hair as broad masses first (Source 4).
→Losing the freshness of the brushwork by over-blending. Frank touches are valuable for giving vitality to the painting (Source 4).

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 pigment palette used by Klimt in 1879 is not detailed in the sources, though lead white was historically dominant (Source 3).
·Exact compositional details (e.g., background color, specific clothing) are not described in the sources, so general portrait conventions are applied (Source 2).
·Klimt’s specific underdrawing materials (charcoal vs. graphite) are not specified, though academic training implies standard materials (Source 6).

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 correcting weaknesses like over-modeling or being tied to outlines (Source 1)
- PAINTING IN COLOUR FROM LIFE — applied to Techniques for modeling the head, treating hair as mass, and color complementarity (Source 4)

cross-referenced from

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

Wikipedia: Portrait painting↗
- Portrait painting — part 2 — applied to Understanding the role of expression, eyes, and eyebrows in conveying character (Source 2)
Wikipedia: Oil painting↗
- Oil painting — part 4 — applied to Materials and pigments used in oil painting, including linseed oil and lead white (Source 3)
Wikipedia bio — Gustav Klimt↗
- part 3 — applied to Context of Klimt’s early academic training and collaboration with the Künstlercompagnie (Source 6)