plate no. 0038

Portrait of a Woman with a Fan

oilBaroqueportraitportraitwomandressfanlacepearls

recreation guide

Nicolaes Maes' 'Portrait of a Woman with a Fan' (1671) represents a pivotal shift in the artist's mature style, moving away from the austere, dark-background portraits of his earlier career toward the lighter, more elegant aesthetic of the 1670s. During this period, Maes was influenced by Flemish portraiture (specifically Van Dyck) and French developments, resulting in works that emphasize gestures, poses, and fashionable attire rather than just likeness (Source 1). The painting likely features a half-length or three-quarter-length figure, potentially set against a lighter background or garden setting, reflecting the 'lighter spirit of the times' and the use of free brushstrokes characteristic of his later work (Source 1). The inclusion of the fan serves as a staging accessory, a technique Maes adopted from Flemish traditions to add narrative or decorative interest to the portrait (Source 1).

estimated time

20-30 hours over 5-7 sessions (allowing for drying time between glazes)

materials

6 items

steps

6 in sequence

materials

item	purpose	modern equivalent
Oil paints (Ultramarine, White, Black, Earth tones, Red/Yellow ochres)	Primary medium for the portrait	Artist-grade oil paints
Linseed oil	Medium to thin paint and ensure 'fat over lean' layering	Refined linseed oil
Mineral spirits or Turpentine	Solvent for thinning initial layers and cleaning brushes	Odorless mineral spirits (OMS) or Turpentine
Canvas (small rectangular or larger format)	Support for the painting; Maes used standardized formats	Linen or cotton canvas, primed
Charcoal or thinned paint	For initial sketching of the subject	Vine charcoal or diluted oil paint
Varnish (optional, for glazing)	To mix with oil for transparent glazes as per traditional practice	Dammar varnish or painting medium

preparation

surface prep

The canvas should be prepared with a ground suitable for oil painting. While Maes' specific ground recipe is not detailed in the sources, traditional oil painting practice of the period involved a stable ground to support the paint film. The surface should be smooth enough to allow for the 'free brushstroke' mentioned in Maes' later style but textured enough to hold the paint layers (Source 2).

underdrawing

Begin by sketching the subject onto the canvas using charcoal or thinned paint. This initial drawing establishes the composition, including the pose and the placement of the fan accessory. Maes' later portraits emphasize gestures and poses, so the underdrawing should focus on capturing the correct posture and the interaction with the prop (Source 1, Source 2).

underpainting

Apply a monochrome underpainting (grisaille) using black, ultramarine, and white mixed with oil of copavia or linseed oil. This layer establishes the values and forms without color. Ensure this layer is completely dry before proceeding. This technique allows for the mental extraction of red and yellow tones, simplifying the initial structural work (Source 3).

color palette

Ultramarine

Pure ultramarine pigment

Used in the initial monochrome underpainting along with black and white (Source 3)

White

Lead white or modern titanium/zinc white

Highlights and mixing in the underpainting; essential for the 'light tones' of the 1670s style (Source 1, Source 3)

Black

Ivory black or lamp black

Shadows and defining forms in the underpainting (Source 3)

Red and Yellow tones

Vermilion, red ochre, yellow ochre

Applied later as glazes and scumbles to add warmth and flesh tones, mimicking the 'tinting of an engraving' (Source 3)

Light tones

Diluted whites and earth tones

Backgrounds and clothing, reflecting the 'lighter spirit' of the 1670s (Source 1)

composition

Maes' portraits from this period often utilized standardized formats: either 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 (Source 1). The composition should emphasize the gesture and pose, with the fan acting as a key accessory that interacts with the sitter's posture. The background may be a light-toned garden or terrace, contrasting with the darker backgrounds of his earlier work (Source 1).

step by step

underdrawing→underpainting→first pass→refining→finishing→varnishing

underdrawing

step 01
Sketch the figure and the fan using charcoal or thinned paint. Focus on the pose and the placement of the accessory.
Tip — Ensure the proportions are correct, as Maes emphasized recognizable likeness and specific gestures (Source 1, Source 2).
Initial sketching

underpainting

step 02
Apply a grisaille underpainting using black, ultramarine, and white mixed with oil. Establish the light and shadow values.
Tip — Mentally extract red and yellow colors at this stage to focus on form (Source 3).
Grisaille

first pass

step 03
Once the grisaille is dry, begin applying color. Use glazing for transparent layers and scumbling for semi-opaque layers.
Tip — Apply red and yellow tones as they occur in nature, similar to tinting an engraving (Source 3).
Glazing and Scumbling

refining

step 04
Build up layers following the 'fat over lean' rule. Each subsequent layer should contain more oil than the previous one to prevent cracking.
Tip — Monitor the oil content in each layer to ensure proper drying and stability (Source 2).
Fat over Lean

finishing

step 05
Refine the brushwork to achieve the 'free brushstroke' characteristic of Maes' 1670s style. Emphasize the textures of the clothing and the fan.
Tip — Avoid overworking the paint; maintain the vitality of the medium (Source 1, Source 6).
Free Brushstroke

varnishing

step 06
Allow the painting to dry completely (up to two weeks) before applying a final varnish if desired.
Tip — Oil paint dries by oxidation, not evaporation (Source 2).
Drying and Varnishing

critical techniques

Glazing and Scumbling

Used to apply color over a dry monochrome underpainting. Glazing provides transparency, while scumbling allows the underlying layer to show through, creating depth and tone (Source 3).

Fat over Lean

A fundamental rule of oil painting where each layer contains more oil than the one below it to ensure proper drying and prevent cracking (Source 2).

Free Brushstroke

Characteristic of Maes' 1670s style, used to depict light tones and elegant settings with a sense of movement and vitality (Source 1).

common pitfalls

→Applying layers with less oil than the previous layer, which will cause the painting to crack and peel (Source 2).
→Overworking the paint to achieve a deceptive realism, which loses the 'vital expression' and 'painted symbols' quality of the medium (Source 6).
→Ignoring the drying time of oil paint, which dries by oxidation and can take up to two weeks to be dry to the touch (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.

·The specific dimensions of the canvas for this particular portrait are not provided in the sources, though Maes used standardized formats (Source 1).
·The exact color palette for the woman's clothing and the fan is not described in the sources, so the artist must infer or choose colors consistent with the 'light tones' of the period (Source 1).
·The specific background setting (garden, terrace, or dark) for this individual painting is not explicitly detailed, though the 1670s style favored light gardens (Source 1).

grounded in

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

The Practice of Oil Painting — COLOURING A MONOCHROME↗
- Glazing and Scumbling — applied to Underpainting technique, color application strategy
The Practice and Science of Drawing — XX MATERIALS↗
- Materials — applied to Philosophy of using oil paint as a medium with vitality, avoiding deceptive realism

cross-referenced from

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

Wikipedia bio — Nicolaes Maes — part 4↗
- Portrait painting — applied to Overview, composition notes, and stylistic characteristics (free brushstroke, light tones, accessories)
Wikipedia: Oil painting — Oil painting — part 2↗
- Traditional oil painting techniques — applied to Materials, underdrawing, fat over lean rule, drying time

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

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