plate no. 2180

Portrait of Mlle de Gillespie - La Dame de Biarritz

Giovanni Boldini, 1912

oil, canvasRealismportraitfigureportraitdresswomanhairfabric

some experience helpful

Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in portraiture, particularly in capturing likeness and conveying mood through color and brushwork. It also provides practice in rendering fabric and creating a sense of depth with subtle value changes.

technical profile

palette complexity

brushwork visibility

value contrast

compositional simplicity

study guide

est. 15 hrs

approach — 8 steps

step 01
Sketch the basic shapes and proportions of the figure and dress.
step 02
Establish the background color with a thin wash of muted pinks and browns.
step 03
Block in the main areas of color for the skin, hair, and dress, focusing on accurate values.
step 04
Begin to refine the facial features, paying close attention to the light and shadow on the face.
step 05
Develop the folds and details of the dress, using loose, expressive brushstrokes.
step 06
Add highlights and shadows to create depth and dimension in the fabric.
step 07
Refine the hair, using small, broken strokes to suggest texture.
step 08
Add final details, such as the jewelry and any other small elements.

color palette

primary · rose madder · titanium white · raw umber

secondary · ivory black · cadmium red light · yellow ochre

Achieve the skin tones by mixing titanium white, yellow ochre, and a touch of cadmium red light. Muted pinks are created by mixing rose madder with white and a touch of raw umber.

techniques

·alla prima
·scumbling
·broken color
·glazing
·chiaroscuro

common pitfalls

→Overworking the details and losing the loose, expressive quality of the original.
→Failing to capture the subtle value changes in the skin tones.
→Making the colors too bright or saturated.
→Getting the proportions of the figure wrong.