plate no. 8763

Self-Portrait in profile

Antonio Ligabue, 1942

oilNaïve Art (Primitivism)self-portraitportraitmanprofilehairfacebackground

some experience helpful

Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in expressive brushwork and color mixing to create form and texture. It also provides practice in capturing a likeness and conveying emotion through portraiture.

technical profile

palette complexity

brushwork visibility

value contrast

compositional simplicity

study guide

est. 12 hrs

approach — 7 steps

step 01
Sketch the basic shapes and proportions of the head and background.
step 02
Block in the main areas of color for the skin, hair, clothing, and background.
step 03
Begin adding details to the face, focusing on the eyes, nose, and mouth.
step 04
Develop the texture of the hair and beard using short, directional brushstrokes.
step 05
Refine the background pattern, paying attention to the spacing and color variations.
step 06
Add highlights and shadows to create depth and dimension.
step 07
Adjust colors and values as needed to achieve a cohesive and expressive portrait.

color palette

primary · yellow ochre · burnt umber · titanium white

secondary · cadmium red · ultramarine blue · sap green

Mix yellow ochre and white for the base skin tone, adding small amounts of red and green for variations. Use burnt umber and white for hair, adding touches of yellow ochre for highlights. Mix ultramarine blue and white for the background, adding touches of red to create a muted tone.

techniques

·impasto
·broken color
·scumbling
·directional brushstrokes
·alla prima

common pitfalls

→Over-blending colors, which can flatten the image.
→Ignoring the direction of brushstrokes, which can make the texture look unnatural.
→Getting bogged down in details too early, which can disrupt the overall composition.
→Not paying attention to the proportions of the face, which can result in an inaccurate likeness.