plate no. 7546

San Giovanni Crisostomo Altarpiece (detail)

oilHigh Renaissancereligious paintingfiguresclothingreligiousvesselswomen

experienced study

Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in portraiture, including capturing likeness and creating realistic skin tones. It also provides practice in rendering fabric and metallic surfaces.

technical profile

palette complexity

brushwork visibility

value contrast

compositional simplicity

study guide

est. 20 hrs

approach — 8 steps

step 01
Lightly sketch the main figures and their relative positions, paying close attention to proportions.
step 02
Establish the background with a thin wash of neutral color.
step 03
Block in the main areas of color for the skin, clothing, and vessels, focusing on the overall value structure.
step 04
Begin layering and blending colors to create smooth transitions in the skin tones.
step 05
Add details to the faces, including the eyes, nose, and mouth, using subtle variations in color and value.
step 06
Develop the folds and highlights in the clothing, using a combination of blending and scumbling techniques.
step 07
Render the metallic surfaces of the vessels, paying attention to the reflections and highlights.
step 08
Refine the details and adjust the overall composition as needed.

color palette

primary · burnt umber · titanium white · ultramarine blue · alizarin crimson

secondary · yellow ochre · raw sienna · ivory black

Achieve skin tones by mixing white, umber, ochre, and a touch of crimson. Create the blue fabric by mixing ultramarine with white and a touch of black. Use yellow ochre and burnt sienna for the gold.

techniques

·portraiture
·glazing
·scumbling
·blending
·chiaroscuro

common pitfalls

→Overmixing colors, resulting in muddy tones.
→Failing to establish a strong value structure.
→Getting the proportions of the figures wrong.
→Overworking the details before establishing the overall form.

materials

surface · stretched canvas

required

·Stretched canvas
·Oil paints (burnt umber, titanium white, ultramarine blue, alizarin crimson, yellow ochre, raw sienna, ivory black)
·Linseed oil
·Odorless mineral spirits
·Assorted brushes (round and flat)
·Palette
·Palette knife
·Rags