plate no. 5533

Portrait of Philippe Jacques Knoderer

pastelNeoclassicismportraitportraitfiguremanclothingscarfhair

some experience helpful

Recreating this portrait will help students develop skills in color mixing for skin tones and rendering fabric folds and textures. It also provides practice in capturing likeness and creating a sense of depth through subtle shading.

technical profile

palette complexity

brushwork visibility

value contrast

compositional simplicity

study guide

est. 15 hrs

approach — 8 steps

step 01
Create a light sketch of the figure's proportions and pose.
step 02
Block in the background with a light blue pastel, blending smoothly.
step 03
Establish the basic shapes and values of the face, using light pinks, browns, and creams.
step 04
Develop the details of the eyes, nose, and mouth, paying attention to subtle variations in color and value.
step 05
Block in the coat with a medium brown pastel, adding darker shadows and lighter highlights to create form.
step 06
Render the scarf with white, yellow, and blue pastels, capturing the folds and textures of the fabric.
step 07
Add details to the hair, using dark brown and black pastels to create volume and texture.
step 08
Refine the overall composition, adjusting values and adding details as needed.

color palette

primary · titanium white · raw umber · ultramarine blue · yellow ochre

secondary · burnt sienna · ivory black · light pink · cream

Skin tones are achieved by mixing white with small amounts of raw umber, burnt sienna, and light pink. The coat is a mix of raw umber and burnt sienna, lightened with white for highlights. The background is primarily ultramarine blue lightened with white.

techniques