plate no. 7650

Portrait of Carlos Saenz de Tejada Benvenuti

Carlos Saenz de Tejada, 1941

sanguine, paperExpressionismportraitportraitfigureboyfacehandsclothing

what to study here

It shows how a single sanguine hue and bare paper can build a full value range, soft modeling and a clear light direction.

This is a sanguine drawing on paper, and the vision analysis shows a restrained, single-hue approach worth studying for value control. The sitter is a young boy in three-quarter view with a downward gaze, lit from the upper left. Note how the cream paper does the work of the highest lights on the forehead, cheekbone, nose bridge and top of the head, so no white is needed there. A light sanguine layer carries the mid-tones across face, neck and shirt, and a heavier or layered application defines the shadow side of the face, under the nose and chin, and the shirt folds. Squint and the image reads as three zones: the lit left of the head, the shadowed right, and the lighter shirt. Edges are soft and blended, so form comes from value shifts rather than outline. The hair is the exception, with more visible directional strokes on the shadow side. The hands rest together at the bottom with slightly firmer edges than the face, acting as a secondary focal point. Study how much range one warm pigment can hold without any true black.

key decision

The painter let the unworked cream paper serve as the lightest lights and built everything else from one sanguine hue in light, blended mid-tones and heavier shadow layers, with no stark blacks.

recreation guide

This artwork is a 1941 portrait by Carlos Saenz de Tejada, executed in sanguine on paper. While the provided sources do not contain a visual description of this specific painting, they establish the artist's identity and the medium's nature. Sanguine (red chalk) is a dry medium traditionally used for drawing and shading, distinct from oil painting. The sources provided primarily discuss oil painting techniques (Source 1, Source 3) and the biography of a different artist, Carmen Calvo (Source 2, Source 4), who shares a surname but is a distinct contemporary conceptual artist. Therefore, the recreation instructions must rely on general art-historical knowledge of sanguine portraiture and the specific warnings in the sources regarding the importance of accurate underdrawing and construction before applying any medium.

estimated time

8-12 hours over 2-3 sessions

materials

5 items

steps

5 in sequence

materials

item	purpose	modern equivalent
Sanguine chalk (red ochre-based)	Primary medium for drawing and shading	Soft red conté crayon or natural red chalk
Toothed paper (warm-toned or white)	Surface to hold the dry pigment	Strathmore 500 Series Sable or Canson Mi-Tientes
Blending stump or tortillon	To smooth transitions and create soft shadows	Paper blending stump
Kneaded eraser	To lift pigment for highlights and corrections	Standard kneaded eraser
White chalk or pastel	For highlights, if the paper tone is too dark	White soft pastel

preparation

surface prep

Select a paper with sufficient 'tooth' to grip the dry pigment. Unlike oil painting, no ground is applied; the paper surface itself is the ground. Ensure the paper is clean and free of oils from handling.

underdrawing

Begin with a light, loose sketch to establish proportions. Source 3 advises to 'Draw and then shade in charcoal' (applicable here as sanguine) and to 'make all corrections while you can in the charcoal stage' because it offers 'little resistance to a brush, and none whatever to bread' (eraser) (Source 3). Do not commit to hard lines until proportions are verified.

underpainting

Not applicable. Sanguine is a dry drawing medium, not a paint. However, the principle of building up tone gradually applies. Source 3 notes that 'One painting will not suffice to complete the study, so paint with the idea of going over it at least three or four times' (Source 3); translate this to layering chalk strokes gradually rather than applying heavy pressure in one pass.

color palette

Red Ochre/Sanguine

Natural red chalk

Primary modeling of form, shadows, and mid-tones

Paper Tone

Unmarked paper

Mid-to-light tones, depending on paper color

White

White chalk

Highlights on nose, eyes, and forehead

Black/Dark Brown

Sepia or black chalk (optional)

Deep shadows in eye sockets and hair, if contrast requires it

composition

The sources do not describe the specific composition of this portrait. Generally, portrait painting aims to 'achieve a likeness of the sitter that is recognisable' (Source 6). Source 3 advises to 'make your study slightly smaller than life' and to hold the drawing 'alongside your sitter, on a level with, and as near as possible to, the face' to check proportions (Source 3).

step by step

underdrawing→first pass→refining→finishing

underdrawing

step 01
Lightly sketch the basic shapes of the head and shoulders. Use a hand mirror or hold the drawing at arm's length to check proportions against the reference or sitter.
Tip — Source 3 warns: 'Do not hesitate to hold your brush against your model’s face to ascertain its length' (adapt for chalk) and to compare the drawing with nature 'through the hand-glass' (Source 3).
Proportional checking
step 02
Refine the outline and major features. Ensure the construction is accurate before adding tone.
Tip — Source 3 states: 'It is reckless in the extreme to put down paint with obvious errors in construction or drawing' (Source 3). Apply this to chalk: do not shade until the drawing is correct.
Construction

first pass

step 03
Begin applying sanguine chalk to establish the darkest shadows and mid-tones. Use the side of the chalk for broad areas and the tip for details.
Tip — Source 3 advises to 'use a dry brush to model with' (Source 3); in drawing, use a blending stump or finger to soften transitions, but keep edges crisp where needed.
Modeling

refining

step 04
Build up layers of tone. Work from dark to light, leaving the paper white for highlights or using white chalk to add them.
Tip — Source 3 suggests working in multiple passes ('going over it at least three or four times') to achieve depth without muddying the image (Source 3).
Layering

finishing

step 05
Adjust contrasts and sharpen key focal points, such as the eyes and mouth. Erase highlights if necessary.
Tip — Source 5 discusses the 'Law of Contrast of Colour' and how juxtaposition affects tone perception (Source 5). Ensure the contrast between light and shadow is sufficient to create form.
Contrast adjustment

critical techniques

Accurate Underdrawing

Source 3 emphasizes that errors in construction are 'fatal to lucidity' and should be corrected in the initial drawing stage (Source 3).

Proportional Verification

Source 3 recommends using a mirror and holding the drawing at eye level with the subject to check scale and proportion (Source 3).

common pitfalls

→Starting to shade before the drawing is accurate, which leads to 'fatal' errors in lucidity (Source 3).
→Over-modeling or being 'too much tied down to your outline,' which Source 3 warns against (Source 3).
→Ignoring the 'tendency to smallness' in details; Source 1 advises copying works that 'check any tendency to smallness' (Source 1).
→Applying too much pressure in one pass, resulting in a muddy or flat appearance. Source 3 advocates for multiple light passes (Source 3).

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 visual details of the portrait (clothing, expression, background) are not described in the sources.
·Carlos Saenz de Tejada's specific handling of sanguine is not detailed in the provided texts; the instructions rely on general sanguine technique and oil painting analogies from the sources.
·The sources primarily discuss oil painting (Source 1, Source 3) and a different artist (Carmen Calvo, Source 2, Source 4), requiring adaptation of advice.
·No information on the specific paper type or chalk brand used by the artist in 1941.

grounded in

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

The Practice of Oil Painting↗
- Painting from Life — applied to Underdrawing, proportional checking, and layering technique
- On Copying — applied to Avoiding 'smallness' and correcting weaknesses
Laws of Contrast of Colour↗
- 6. Put beside each other two flat tints — applied to Understanding contrast and tone gradation

cross-referenced from

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

Wikipedia: Portrait painting↗
- Portrait painting — applied to Goal of achieving recognizable likeness

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

read from the painting

observed from the image, not the label

6 dominant colors, measured

what the eye sees

This portrait presents a young boy in three-quarter view with a gentle downward gaze, rendered entirely in warm sanguine on cream paper. The light source comes from the upper left, creating warm highlights on the left side of the face and forehead while the right side recedes into soft shadow. The composition is tightly framed on the head and shoulders, with carefully articulated hands resting together in the lower portion—a secondary but important focal point. The eye is drawn first to the face (particularly the eyes and the warm mid-tone modeling), then travels to the hands, which demonstrate the artist's skill with form and foreshortening.

value structure

The value range is moderate and warm throughout: the lightest lights are the cream paper showing through (forehead, cheekbone, top of head), the mid-tones dominate the face and shirt as blended sanguine, and the darkest darks are concentrated in the hair, eyebrows, and deepest shadows. There are no stark blacks; even the shadows are warm and readable. When squinted, the painting reads as three clear zones: the lit left side of the head, the shadowed right side, and the lighter shirt below, with the hands as a detail layer of medium-dark values.

observed palette and mixes

#f9e7bc
Paper ground—warm cream-toned, unworked
Highest lights: forehead, left cheekbone, nose bridge, top of head, portions of shirt and background
#f5d0a2
Sanguine pencil or crayon, light-to-medium application, blended
Dominant mid-tone: face planes, neck, flesh areas, shirt—the color foundation of the entire work
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Sanguine, heavier application or layered for depth and definition
Shadows and form: right side of face, under nose and chin, hand shadows, shirt folds, hair mid-tones and interior

edges and brushwork

Edges throughout are soft and blended, characteristic of sanguine handled with a blending stump or tissue. The contours of the face dissolve into the background rather than being drawn with hard lines; definition comes from value transitions. The hair shows more directional, visible strokes and marks, particularly on the shadow side, creating form and movement. The hands have slightly more articulated edges than the face—defining the finger forms—but remain soft and unified with the rest of the work.

a working sequence

01
Map the structure lightly
Sketch the head shape, noting the slight tilt to the right and the downward gaze. Mark the eye placement (roughly centered on the head), nose position, and mouth line. Lightly indicate the shoulders, neck, and the two hands resting together. Keep this armature light—it's your guide, not your final line.
02
Establish the face's main value
Using light sanguine, wash in the mid-tone of the face and neck, following the simple planes: the left (lit) side and the right (shadowed) side. This is not detailed yet—just the overall warmth. The left forehead and cheekbone area stay lighter; the right side is already slightly darker. Don't render features; establish the basic volume.
03
Place the facial features
Add the eyes (downward gaze), nose, and mouth with mid-tone sanguine. The eyes are your focal point—make them accurate and proportioned. Add the nostril shadow and the shadow underneath the chin. These features anchor the likeness.
04
Build the hair mass
The hair is dark and graphically important. Work the shadow side (right and back) with heavier sanguine or charcoal, following the directional flow (sweeping back and up). Leave the lighter areas (left and top) showing the paper or light wash. The hair is not uniform; it has interior light and dark passages.
05
Model the face for depth
Deepen the shadows on the right side of the face with heavier sanguine. Add shadows under the cheekbones, around the eye sockets, and under the nose. The left side remains brighter. Use a blending stump or tissue to create soft transitions between light and shadow—avoid hard edges.
06
Develop the shirt and hands
The shirt is light with soft folds indicating the body beneath (shoulder, chest). Indicate folds with light shadow lines—they're structural, not decorative. The hands are complex: carefully draw the finger structure and overlapping forms, paying attention to shadows between digits. Hands are warmer and more sanguine-saturated than the shirt.
07
Unify values and refine transitions
Step back and assess the overall value structure. Darken the shadows to create depth—the right side of the face and the shadow side of the hair should recede. Ensure the light source (upper left) is consistent throughout. Blend transitions in the face to maintain the soft, unified quality.
08
Add highlights and final details
Use white chalk, white pencil, or let the paper show through for highlights: small specks in the eyes (essential—don't skip this), the left forehead, the nose tip, and the left cheekbone. These small lights bring vitality and suggest the light source. Soften any remaining harsh edges with a blending tool.

where studies of this painting go wrong

Making the hair too uniform or bushy—it needs clear directional flow, distinct light and shadow sides, and interior variation. It's not just a dark blob.
Overworking the face and losing the soft, blended quality—sanguine on paper invites blending. Resist outlining or drawing hard edges; the likeness comes from subtle value shifts.
Neglecting the hands—they're as important as the face and require careful anatomy. Fingers have individual structure, and the shadow and overlap between them is crucial for dimension.
Leaving the shirt formless—the folds must suggest the body underneath, following the structure of the shoulder and chest. Avoid random decorative lines.
Forgetting the final highlights—the small white accents (especially the eye specks) are essential. Without them, the portrait will feel flat and lifeless.

measured difficulty