plate no. 5868

Portrait of a Young Girl Standing near a Fountain

oilBaroqueportraitportraitfiguredressfountainlandscapepearls

recreation guide

This recreation guide addresses Nicolaes Maes’s 'Portrait of a Young Girl Standing near a Fountain' (1664), a work situated in the artist’s mature period. During the 1660s, Maes’s style shifted from austere, dark-background portraits to a format influenced by Flemish portraiture, particularly Anthony van Dyck. This period is characterized by the use of staging and accessories, often placing sitters in elegant gardens or against sunset skies with a freer brushstroke (Source 2). The specific format of this painting likely follows Maes’s standardized approach for three-quarter-length figures, who are depicted leaning against props such as columns, fountains, or rocks (Source 2). The work exemplifies the Baroque genre of portrait painting, intended to capture a recognizable likeness while serving as a record of the sitter’s appearance and status (Source 5).

estimated time

20-30 hours over 6-8 sessions

materials

7 items

steps

6 in sequence

materials

item	purpose	modern equivalent
Oil paints (artist grade)	Primary medium for the painting	—
Linseed oil	Medium to mix with paint for layering and glazing	Refined linseed oil
Mineral spirits or turpentine	Solvent to thin paint for initial layers and clean brushes	Odorless mineral spirits (OMS) or gum turpentine
Canvas	Support surface	Linen or cotton canvas, primed
Charcoal or thinned paint	For initial sketching of the subject	Vine charcoal or raw umber thinned with solvent
Paintbrushes and palette knives	Application and scraping of paint	Hog bristle and synthetic brushes; flexible palette knives
Rags	Wiping away wet paint or applying scumbles	Lint-free cotton rags or paper towels

preparation

surface prep

The canvas should be prepared with a ground suitable for oil painting. While specific ground recipes for Maes are not detailed in the sources, traditional oil painting techniques of the period involved preparing a stable surface to receive the paint layers. The artist likely used a white or light-toned ground to facilitate the lighter spirit and light tones characteristic of his 1660s-1670s garden portraits (Source 2).

underdrawing

Begin by sketching the subject onto the canvas using charcoal or thinned paint, as was traditional for oil painting techniques of the era (Source 1). Given Maes’s mature style emphasizes gestures, poses, and the interaction with props like the fountain, the underdrawing should focus on accurate proportions and the dynamic relationship between the figure and the architectural element (Source 2).

underpainting

Consider using a monochrome underpainting (grisaille) to establish values before applying color. This technique, involving the extraction of red and yellow tones to create a neutral base, was practiced by old masters and allows for subsequent glazing and scumbling (Source 7). This approach helps in managing the 'fat over lean' rule, ensuring the initial layers are leaner (more solvent) and subsequent layers are fatter (more oil) to prevent cracking (Source 1).

color palette

Light tones / Flesh tones

Lead white, vermilion, yellow ochre, and lake pigments

The sitter's skin and clothing, reflecting the 'lighter spirit' and 'light tones' of Maes's 1660s-1670s style (Source 2)

Green / Blue tones

Verdigris, terre verte, ultramarine

The garden setting and fountain, providing complementary contrast to flesh tones (Source 4)

Warm sunset tones

Yellow ochre, red lake, white

The background sky, consistent with Maes’s use of sunset skies in his mature portraits (Source 2)

composition

The composition likely features a three-quarter-length figure leaning against a fountain, a standardized format Maes employed during his mature period (Source 2). The setting is probably a terrace or garden, utilizing a sunset sky to create a lighter atmosphere compared to his earlier dark-background works (Source 2). The arrangement emphasizes the sitter’s gestures and pose, influenced by Flemish portraiture (Source 2).

step by step

underdrawing→underpainting→first pass→refining→finishing

underdrawing

step 01
Sketch the figure and fountain using charcoal or thinned paint.
Tip — Focus on the pose and interaction with the prop, as Maes emphasized gestures in this period.
Initial sketching

underpainting

step 02
Apply a lean underpainting, possibly a grisaille, to establish values.
Tip — Ensure this layer is 'lean' (more solvent) to adhere to the 'fat over lean' rule.
Grisaille / Monochrome underpainting

first pass

step 03
Block in the main colors, starting with the background and larger areas.
Tip — Use thinner paint mixed with solvent for these initial color layers.
Blocking in

refining

step 04
Build up flesh tones and clothing details using thicker paint.
Tip — Each additional layer should contain more oil than the one below to prevent cracking.
Layering / Fat over lean
step 05
Apply glazes and scumbles to adjust translucency and sheen.
Tip — Glazing adds transparency; scumbling adds semi-opaque texture. Use oil or varnish mixtures as mastery increases.
Glazing and Scumbling

finishing

step 06
Refine edges and highlights, using a free brushstroke consistent with Maes’s mature style.
Tip — Maes’s later portraits show a free brushstroke, especially in gardens and light tones.
Free brushstroke

critical techniques

Fat over Lean

A basic rule of oil painting where each additional layer contains more oil than the layer below to ensure proper drying and prevent cracking.

Glazing and Scumbling

Glazing applies transparent color coats; scumbling applies semi-opaque paint. These techniques adjust translucency, sheen, and density, and were practiced by old masters.

Complementary Color Contrast

Using complementary colors (e.g., red and green, orange and blue) to intensify colors. For example, surrounding an orange drapery with blue tones makes it appear more orange.

common pitfalls

→Violating the 'fat over lean' rule by applying lean layers over fat ones, which can cause the painting to crack and peel (Source 1).
→Over-modeling or being too tied down to outlines, which contradicts the free brushstroke characteristic of Maes’s mature style (Source 2, Source 3).
→Ignoring color interaction laws, such as failing to use complementary colors to enhance brilliance or soften tones (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 recipes used by Nicolaes Maes in 1664 are not detailed in the sources.
·The exact dimensions and aspect ratio of this specific portrait are not provided, though Maes used standardized formats.
·Detailed description of the young girl’s facial expression or specific clothing patterns is absent from the sources.

grounded in

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

The Practice of Oil Painting↗
- COLOURING A MONOCHROME — applied to Grisaille underpainting and glazing techniques.
The Science of Painting↗
- 4. When two colours separated by more than two others — applied to Color theory and complementary contrast.

cross-referenced from

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

Wikipedia: Oil painting↗
- Oil painting — part 2 — applied to General oil painting techniques, fat over lean rule, glazing, scumbling, and underdrawing.
Wikipedia bio — Nicolaes Maes↗
- Portrait painting — applied to Maes’s mature style, use of props like fountains, garden settings, sunset skies, and free brushstroke.
Wikipedia: Portrait painting↗
- Portrait painting — part 1 — applied to Genre context and purpose of portraiture.