plate no. 6525
The Card Players
Paul Cézanne, 1895
experienced study
Students would develop skills in figure construction, understanding form through color temperature changes, and creating unified compositions through repeated color harmonies.
technical profile
palette complexity
4
brushwork visibility
4
value contrast
3
compositional simplicity
4
study guide
est. 25 hrsapproach — 8 steps
- step 01
Sketch the basic geometric shapes of the two seated figures and table
- step 02
Establish the warm orange table and cool background color masses
- step 03
Block in the large shapes of clothing using earth tones and muted greens
- step 04
Model the faces and hands with warm flesh tones, paying attention to Cézanne's angular approach
- step 05
Develop the background with vertical elements and atmospheric depth
- step 06
Add the card game details and bottle as focal elements
- step 07
Refine edges and color relationships throughout
- step 08
Final adjustments to color temperature and form modeling
color palette
primary · burnt sienna · raw umber · yellow ochre · ultramarine blue
secondary · cadmium orange · viridian · raw sienna · ivory black
Mix flesh tones with ochre and burnt sienna, use complementary orange/blue relationships for color harmony, neutralize greens with earth tones
techniques
- ·constructive brushwork
- ·color modulation
- ·geometric simplification
- ·color temperature modeling
- ·atmospheric perspective
common pitfalls
- →overworking facial details
- →making colors too bright or pure
- →losing the geometric structure of forms
- →creating harsh outlines instead of constructed edges
materials
surface · stretched canvas primed with neutral gray ground
required
- ·#6 flat brush
- ·#4 flat brush
- ·#2 round brush
- ·burnt sienna oil paint
- ·raw umber oil paint
- ·yellow ochre oil paint
- ·ultramarine blue oil paint
- ·titanium white oil paint
- ·stretched canvas 20x24
optional
- ·palette knife
- ·cadmium orange
- ·viridian
- ·painting medium
A neutral gray ground will help judge color relationships more accurately than white canvas
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