plate no. 9759

Portrait of Hudenkova

oilRomanticismportraitportraitfiguredresschairfanfur

what to study here

It shows how one dark, nearly unified dress mass, a lit face and a loose olive ground can be organized by value and edge control.

Study how the figure is built from three value zones: a bright face, a dark dress mass, and a lighter background. Light comes from the upper left, so the face, neck and right forearm float forward while the burgundy velvet sinks into shadow. The face gets the softest, most blended modeling, with careful planes in cheek and jaw. The dress is handled with broader strokes that follow the drape, and velvet pile is suggested by value shifts instead of detail. Edges where dress meets background are soft, while the gold embroidery at collar and shoulders is crisper. The background is loose and thin, with visible strokes and glazes, set against the tighter figure. A muted olive-green at left cools and darkens toward the upper right. The peacock fan in her lap is the one surprising color accent, and the eye-spots must stay secondary to the face. The mustard-gold damask chair back acts as a middle-value bridge between dark dress and light skin. Copy the contrast between tight figure and loose ground, and the way edge sharpness ranks the importance of each area.

key decision

The painter kept the dress as one dark, soft-edged mass and concentrated the lightest values and most precise blending in the face, neck and forearm. The loosely handled olive background supports this by contrasting with the tighter figure.

recreation guide

Portrait of Hudenkova (1890) by Konstantin Makovsky represents a transition in the artist’s career from strict realism toward a style that emphasizes color and shape, influenced by his travels to North Africa and Serbia in the mid-1870s (Source 3). As a member of the Peredvizhniki (Wanderers) and a representative of Academic art, Makovsky’s work often balances realistic depiction with an idealized view of his subjects (Source 3, Source 6). The portrait genre, as defined in the sources, aims to achieve a recognizable likeness that serves as a record of the sitter’s appearance, a skill Makovsky would have honed through his academic training at the Imperial Academy of Arts (Source 2, Source 3).

estimated time

20-30 hours over 5-7 sessions

materials

6 items

steps

5 in sequence

materials

item	purpose	modern equivalent
Oil paints	Primary medium for the portrait	—
Linseed oil	To mix with paint for consistency and to adhere to the 'fat over lean' rule	Stand oil or refined linseed oil
Mineral spirits or turpentine	To thin paint for initial layers and clean brushes	Odorless mineral spirits
Canvas	Support surface	Linen or cotton canvas
Charcoal or thinned paint	For initial sketching of the subject	Vine charcoal or raw umber thinned with solvent
Paintbrushes	Traditional application of paint	Hog bristle and sable brushes

preparation

surface prep

The canvas should be primed with a traditional ground suitable for oil painting. While specific priming methods for this exact portrait are not detailed in the sources, Makovsky’s academic background suggests a standard white or off-white gesso ground to allow for the full range of tonal values required in portraiture (Source 3, Source 5).

underdrawing

Begin by sketching the subject onto the canvas using charcoal or thinned paint, as is traditional in oil painting techniques (Source 5, Source 7). Makovsky’s academic training implies a careful initial layout to ensure the likeness is recognizable, a key intent of portrait painting (Source 2).

underpainting

Apply an initial layer of thinned paint to establish values and composition. This layer should be 'lean' (mixed with more solvent than oil) to adhere to the 'fat over lean' rule, ensuring proper drying and preventing cracking in subsequent layers (Source 5, Source 7).

color palette

Warm earth tones

Raw umber, burnt sienna, ochre

General use in establishing skin tones and shadows, consistent with academic realism

Vibrant hues

Cadmium red, ultramarine blue, emerald green

Reflecting Makovsky’s stylistic shift toward greater emphasis on colors and shapes after his travels (Source 3)

White

Lead white or titanium white

Highlights and mixing to adjust tone and value

composition

The composition likely focuses on the sitter’s face and upper body to achieve a recognizable likeness, a primary goal of portrait painting (Source 2). Makovsky’s style, influenced by his academic training and later travels, suggests a balance between realistic detail and expressive color, avoiding the 'meretricious attempt to deceive the eye' in favor of painted symbols that express feeling (Source 3, Source 4).

step by step

underdrawing→underpainting→first pass→refining→finishing

underdrawing

step 01
Sketch the subject’s pose and facial features using charcoal or thinned paint.
Tip — Ensure the likeness is recognizable, as this is the primary intent of portrait painting.
Initial sketching

underpainting

step 02
Apply a lean layer of thinned paint to block in major shapes and values.
Tip — Keep this layer thin to allow proper drying and prevent cracking.
Fat over lean

first pass

step 03
Build up color in subsequent layers, ensuring each layer contains more oil than the previous one.
Tip — Observe simultaneous contrast of colors to accurately perceive and imitate modifications of light on the model.
Layering

refining

step 04
Refine details, particularly in the face, to achieve a good likeness.
Tip — Avoid over-modeling; check for tendencies to smallness by referencing broader masses.
Detailing

finishing

step 05
Add final highlights and adjust colors to harmonize the composition.
Tip — Remember that oil paint dries by oxidation, allowing time for adjustments.
Glazing/Scumbling

critical techniques

Fat over lean

Each additional layer of paint should contain more oil than the layer below to allow proper drying and prevent cracking.

Simultaneous contrast of colors

Perceive and imitate modifications of light and color on the model, accounting for how contiguous colors affect each other.

Academic realism

Makovsky’s training emphasizes accurate depiction and likeness, balanced with expressive color.

common pitfalls

→Over-modeling or being too tied down to outlines, which can lead to a stiff appearance (Source 1).
→Ignoring the 'fat over lean' rule, which can cause the painting to crack and peel (Source 5).
→Failing to account for simultaneous contrast of colors, leading to inaccurate color perception (Source 8).
→Attempting to deceive the eye with excessive naturalism rather than expressing feeling through painted symbols (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 details of the sitter’s clothing, jewelry, or background are not described in the sources.
·Exact pigment palette used by Makovsky for this specific portrait is not detailed.
·Specific brushwork techniques unique to this portrait are not described.

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 avoiding over-modeling and smallness
The Practice and Science of Drawing↗
- XX MATERIALS — applied to Importance of medium and avoiding mere deception
Laws of Contrast of Colour↗
- 315-318 — applied to Color theory and simultaneous contrast

cross-referenced from

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

Wikipedia: Portrait painting↗
- Portrait painting — part 1 — applied to Intent of achieving a recognizable likeness
Wikipedia bio — Konstantin Makovsky↗
- part 1 — applied to Artist’s background, style shift, and academic training
Wikipedia: Oil painting↗
- Oil painting — part 2 — applied to Techniques like fat over lean, sketching, and drying times

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

A three-quarter seated figure in a striking deep burgundy velvet dress dominates the canvas, positioned slightly left of center. Light falls from the upper left, illuminating her pale face and left arm while casting the dress into rich shadow. The eye travels first to her face, then down the vertical line of the dress to the peacock fan she holds in her lap, where the iridescent eye-spots create a surprising color accent. Behind her sits an ornate chair with a mustard-gold damask-patterned back, while the background shifts from a muted olive-green at left to darker, cooler tones at upper right.

value structure

The darkest darks occupy the upper right background and the deepest folds of the burgundy dress, creating a strong shadow framework. The lightest lights concentrate on the face, neck, and her right forearm—these pale values float forward and command attention. The dress itself reads as a unified dark mass with subtle mid-tone variations in its draping; the chair back provides a middle-value bridge between the dark dress and the light skin tones. When squinting, three clear value zones emerge: the bright face, the dark dress envelope, and the lighter background atmosphere.

observed palette and mixes

#75794c
Yellow ochre + ultramarine + touch of white
Main background tone, left side and upper mid-ground
#9aa66f
Yellow ochre + cadmium yellow + soft green + white
Lighter background areas, damask chair upholstery pattern
#5a1131
Alizarin crimson + ultramarine + burnt sienna
Mid-tone burgundy of dress, particularly in shoulder and bodice
#411230
Alizarin crimson + ultramarine + burnt umber
Deeper burgundy folds and shadow areas of dress
#25172e
Ultramarine + alizarin + ivory black
Darkest dress shadows and deepest background zones
#544d3b
Raw sienna + ultramarine + white
Neutral mid-tones in background shadows and dress folds

edges and brushwork

The face receives the most precise, blended handling—soft edges and smooth modeling throughout, with careful attention to the subtle planes of cheek and jaw. The dress is painted with broader strokes that suggest velvet pile through value shifts and directional brushwork following the fabric's drape; edges where the dress meets background are softer, while the gold embroidery at collar and shoulders is more crisply defined. The background is handled loosely and atmospherically, with thin glazes and visible brushstrokes that contrast with the tighter rendering of the figure.

a working sequence

01
Establish the background tonality
Lay in the entire background with a warm olive-green (mix your yellows, greens, and ultramarine carefully to hit that muted tone). Work from left (lighter) to right (darker), letting the tone darken and cool slightly toward the upper right corner. Keep it thin and atmospheric—you'll adjust later, but this becomes your light-source guide for the entire figure.
02
Block in the chair and composition masses
Use a thin burgundy-brown to sketch the chair silhouette and back placement. Establish the damask pattern in the chair back using your olive and gold tones—just block the broad pattern shapes, no detail yet. This anchors where the figure sits and prevents her from floating.
03
Lay the burgundy dress base and shadow masses
Lay in the entire dress shape with your mid-tone burgundy (#5a1131 mix). While still wet, drop your darkest burgundy (#411230 mix) into the shadows—deep in the folds, under the arm, in the underside of the skirt. Let these edges soften where they meet the background; keep the boundaries soft and organic, not hard.
04
Model the face and neck with flesh values
Begin with a warm mid-tone for the general face mass—yellow ochre, white, and a touch of alizarin. Map the head's basic structure: shadow side (right side of face) and light side (left). Work the neck carefully where it meets the dress neckline, as this is a critical edge. Paint the hair as a simple blonde mass with darker tones suggesting structure and the ornament at top.
05
Refine facial planes and add features
Work the eye sockets, cheekbones, and jawline with subtle value shifts—not outlines, but planes catching light differently. Place the eyes, nose, and mouth with warm mid-tones and cooler shadows. The face should feel luminous against the dark dress, so reserve your lightest lights for forehead and cheekbone highlights. Add the warm flesh tone to the visible arm and hand holding the fan.
06
Paint the gold embroidery and dress details
Using your lightest, warmest gold (cadmium yellow + white + touch of sienna), paint the decorative trim at the neckline and shoulder epaulettes. Follow the contour of the dress—these accent lines should enhance the figure's shape, not dominate. Layer this carefully over the burgundy; the embroidery catches light so use clean, brighter values. Add subtle velvet texture to the dress by dry-brushing slightly lighter burgundy in the direction of fold and light.
07
Render the peacock fan
Using deep teal and green (ultramarine + cadmium green), map the fan shape held in her right hand. Paint the eye-spots with white centers and concentric rings of warm gold, teal, and dark green—they should read clearly but not scream for attention. The feather structure should have directional strokes suggesting the plumage's natural flow.
08
Atmospheric finishing and edges
Step back and refine edges throughout: soften the background-dress transition, sharpen the face-to-background edge to push the head forward, and check that all value relationships read correctly. Add any final atmospheric glazes to the background if needed to deepen the sense of depth. Ensure the peacock fan sits comfortably in the composition without overwhelming the seated figure.

where studies of this painting go wrong

The burgundy dress is easy to render too uniform or too bright—watch that it holds both deep shadow and has subtle internal modeling without becoming purple or muddy. The velvet texture matters; avoid smooth plastic-looking fabric.
The unusual olive-green background is a color-mixing challenge; most painters default to yellow-green or gray-green instead. If it trends toward bright lime or cool gray, you'll lose the warm, intimate atmosphere.
The face can easily look washed-out or sallow if you don't maintain warm undertones and sufficient modeling. Conversely, it can look waxy if you make the skin too uniform—subtle shadows on the face are essential.
The peacock fan's eye-spots are visually striking and can steal the focal point if overpainted. They should read clearly but remain subordinate to the face; resist the urge to overwork them.

measured difficulty