plate no. 7743
The road up
Paul Gauguin, 1884
recreation guide
The Road Up (1884) is an oil on canvas landscape by Paul Gauguin, created during his early period in Copenhagen and Paris before his move to Brittany. While the artwork is classified under Impressionism in this context, it predates Gauguin’s later, more famous Synthetist and Cloisonnist styles characterized by flat areas of pure color and heavy black outlines (Source 3). As an 1884 work, it likely reflects a transitional phase where Gauguin was still engaging with traditional landscape conventions, though his palette and approach were evolving. The painting utilizes oil paint, a medium that allows for extended working time and layering, which is essential for achieving the atmospheric depth typical of landscape painting (Source 1).
estimated time
20-30 hours over 5-7 sessions
materials
7 items
steps
6 in sequence
materials
| item | purpose | modern equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Oil paints (artist grade) | Primary medium for painting | — |
| Linseed oil | Medium to thin paint and increase oil content for 'fat over lean' layering | — |
| Mineral spirits or turpentine | Solvent to thin paint for initial layers and clean brushes | — |
| Canvas | Support surface | — |
| Charcoal or thinned paint | For initial sketching/underdrawing | — |
| Paintbrushes and palette knives | Application and manipulation of paint | — |
| Rags | Cleaning brushes and removing wet paint if necessary | — |
preparation
surface prep
The canvas should be primed with a traditional ground suitable for oil painting. While specific preparation details for this exact canvas are not provided in the sources, traditional oil painting techniques assume a prepared surface that allows for proper adhesion of the oil paint film (Source 1).
underdrawing
Traditional oil painting techniques often begin with the artist sketching the subject onto the canvas with charcoal or thinned paint (Source 1). Given that this is an 1884 landscape, it is likely Gauguin employed a preliminary sketch to establish the composition of the road and surrounding landscape before applying paint.
underpainting
An underpainting or initial layer of thinned paint may be used to establish values and composition. This layer should be 'lean' (containing more solvent than oil) to adhere properly to the ground and allow subsequent 'fatter' layers to dry correctly without cracking (Source 1).
color palette
Earth tones (browns, ochres)
Natural earth pigments mixed with linseed oil
Likely used for the road and earthy elements, consistent with landscape conventions of the period
Greens and Blues
Green and blue pigments, potentially adjusted with complements to avoid hue shifts
Vegetation and sky, utilizing color theory to maintain saturation without muddiness (Source 2)
Whites and Blacks
White and black pigments
Adjusting lightness and darkness; however, care must be taken as adding black can shift hues toward greenish or bluish tones, and adding white can shift reds/oranges toward blue (Source 2)
composition
The sources do not describe the specific compositional layout of The Road Up. However, Gauguin’s later work dispensed with classical perspective (Source 3), but this 1884 work likely retains more traditional perspective structures typical of Impressionist landscapes. The artist may have used the principle of simultaneous contrast to harmonize colors inherent to the landscape, such as the sky and trees, to create a unified visual effect (Source 6).
step by step
underdrawing→underpainting→first pass→refining→finishing→varnishing
underdrawing
step 01
Sketch the composition of the road and landscape onto the canvas using charcoal or thinned paint.
Tip — Ensure the sketch is light enough to be covered by subsequent paint layers.
Traditional underdrawing
underpainting
step 02
Apply a thin, lean layer of paint to establish basic values and color relationships. Use more solvent than oil in this layer.
Tip — This layer must dry completely before applying thicker paint to prevent cracking.
Lean underpainting
first pass
step 03
Begin applying paint in thicker layers, ensuring each layer contains more oil than the previous one ('fat over lean').
Tip — Monitor the drying time; oil paint dries by oxidation and can remain wet for days to weeks.
Fat over lean
refining
step 04
Adjust colors using color theory principles. If a color appears too dark or shifted in hue, consider using its complement to neutralize it rather than adding black or white, which can cause unwanted hue shifts.
Tip — Adding black to yellows/oranges/red can shift them toward green/blue; adding white to reds/oranges can shift them toward blue.
Complementary color mixing
finishing
step 05
Use palette knives or brushes to refine textures and details. If necessary, scrape off wet paint with a rag and turpentine to correct mistakes.
Tip — Oil paint remains wet longer than other media, allowing for changes in color, texture, or form.
Paint manipulation
varnishing
step 06
Allow the painting to dry completely (up to two weeks or more) before applying varnish if desired.
Tip — Ensure the paint film is stable and fully oxidized to prevent future cracking.
Drying and varnishing
critical techniques
Fat over lean
Each additional layer of paint should contain more oil than the layer below to allow proper drying and prevent cracking.
Complementary color mixing
Using complementary colors to darken or neutralize hues without causing unwanted hue shifts, which can occur when adding black or white.
Simultaneous contrast
Considering how adjacent colors affect each other's appearance, potentially enhancing or softening tones based on their relationship.
common pitfalls
- →Cracking and peeling due to violating the 'fat over lean' rule by applying leaner layers over fatter ones (Source 1).
- →Unwanted hue shifts when darkening colors with black or lightening with white, particularly in warm colors like reds, oranges, and yellows (Source 2).
- →Overworking wet paint, which can lead to muddiness; however, oil paint’s slow drying time allows for corrections if done carefully (Source 1).
what the sources don't tell us
Where the corpus is silent, we say so rather than guess. These are the gaps a complete recreation guide would normally cover that our source passages don't.
- ·Specific visual details of The Road Up (e.g., exact colors, composition, subject matter) are not described in the provided sources.
- ·Gauguin’s specific palette and technique for this 1884 work are not detailed; the guide relies on general oil painting practices and his later stylistic evolution.
- ·The exact ground preparation and varnishing materials used by Gauguin for this specific painting are unknown.
grounded in
The technical procedure in this guide traces to the following classical art-instruction texts.
Laws of Contrast of Colour↗
- 315-318 — applied to Simultaneous contrast and color harmony in landscapes
The Science of Painting↗
- 4 — applied to Color juxtaposition and modifying color appearance
cross-referenced from
Named facts about this artwork and artist were checked against these reference pages.
Wikipedia: Oil painting↗
- part 2 — applied to Underdrawing, underpainting, fat over lean rule, drying time, and paint manipulation
Wikipedia: Color theory↗
- part 6 — applied to Color mixing, avoiding hue shifts with black/white, using complements
Wikipedia bio — Paul Gauguin↗
- part 6 — applied to Contextualizing Gauguin’s style in 1884 vs. later Cloisonnism/Synthetism
Read more about the corpus on the sources page and how the guides are built on the methods page.
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