plate no. 2399

Portrait Of A Seated Man Holding A Hat

oilBaroqueportraitportraitmanclothinghairhandscollar

some experience helpful

Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in portraiture, particularly in capturing likeness and rendering realistic skin tones. It also provides practice in depicting fabrics and textures with loose brushwork.

technical profile

palette complexity

brushwork visibility

value contrast

compositional simplicity

study guide

est. 15 hrs

approach — 8 steps

step 01
Sketch the basic proportions and pose of the figure.
step 02
Establish the background with a thin wash of browns and grays.
step 03
Block in the main areas of the figure: face, hair, clothing.
step 04
Begin refining the facial features, paying attention to light and shadow.
step 05
Develop the hair, using loose, expressive brushstrokes.
step 06
Work on the clothing, capturing the folds and textures.
step 07
Add details to the hands and collar.
step 08
Refine the overall composition and add final highlights and shadows.

color palette

primary · ivory black · burnt umber · raw sienna · titanium white

secondary · cadmium yellow light · alizarin crimson

Achieve skin tones by mixing white, sienna, umber, and small amounts of red and yellow. Use black and umber for the dark clothing, adding white for highlights.

techniques

·portraiture
·chiaroscuro
·loose brushwork
·glazing
·scumbling

common pitfalls

→Overworking the details and losing the loose, expressive quality.
→Getting the proportions wrong in the initial sketch.
→Creating muddy colors by overmixing.
→Failing to capture the likeness of the subject.

materials

surface · stretched canvas

required

·stretched canvas (16x20 inches)
·oil paints (ivory black, burnt umber, raw sienna, titanium white, cadmium yellow light, alizarin crimson)
·palette
·assorted brushes (round and flat)
·linseed oil
·turpentine or odorless mineral spirits
·palette knife