The Story of Nastagio degli Onesti

This is a feast scene set beneath a monumental colonnade, where the architecture—not the figures—dominates the composition. Your eye is pulled through a tunnel of massive Corinthian columns and arched vaults receding toward a distant landscape. Light enters from the front-left, illuminating the white tablecloths and foreground figures while the vaulted ceiling and columns remain in deep shadow, creating stark value contrast. Seated guests and standing attendants flank two long tables arranged symmetrically, with the architectural vanishing point at the painting's center drawing you deep into the represented space.

The column and ceiling vault form an enormous dark value mass (nearly charcoal brown with warm undertones) that frames and contains the composition. The white tablecloths provide the brightest lights. Foreground figures in red and varied hues sit in mid-to-warm-light values. The background figures recede into greyish tones, and the distant landscape and sky are the palest area. The tonal range is large and the separation between the deep architectural shadow and the lit banquet foreground is your primary depth tool—squint and you'll see two distinct value zones with a sharp boundary.

• #311e1c

  Ivory black + raw umber + touch of red ochre

  Deepest shadows in the columns, vaulted ceiling, and cast shadows on the ground plane

• #412c28

  Raw umber + ivory black

  Mid-dark tones in the architectural surfaces, ornamental details, and column shafts

• #644c41

  Raw umber + red ochre + titanium white

  Warmer mid-tones in architectural details, faces, and skin areas

• #9f9389

  Raw umber + titanium white + ultramarine blue

  Greyed mid-tones in background figures and atmospheric recession

• #dfd7d4

  Titanium white + touch of raw umber

  The tablecloths, linens, and brightest highlights on figures

• #c1332d

  Red ochre + alizarin (or cadmium red + umber)

  The dominant red hose and tunics worn by attendants and some guests

This work uses crisp, controlled edges throughout—the figures have clear contours, the architecture reads as geometrically precise, and drapery folds are indicated with deliberate line and value shift rather than soft modeling. The brushwork is linear and purposeful, especially evident in how the columns are constructed with parallel strokes that reinforce their cylindrical form. There is no visible loose or gestural work; every edge and fold serves the clarity of the composition and the illusion of space.

1. 01

   Transfer the architectural framework

   Draw or transfer the perspective grid, vanishing point, and all architectural elements (columns, arches, vaults, capital details). Use a fine pencil or stylus. Establish the centerline and the orthogonal lines receding to the distance. This stage determines whether the illusion of deep space will hold—take time here. Include the outlines of the two long tables and the foreground figures to ground the scale.

2. 02

   Establish the dark architectural mass

   Mix a dark warm brown (raw umber + ivory black + touch of red ochre) and block in all shadow areas: the full extent of the columns, the vaulted ceiling, cast shadows on the ground, and the deep recesses of the arches. Work boldly and flatly at first—this is your value anchor. The architectural forms should read as unified dark shapes at this stage. Leave the sky gaps and landscape openings visible as pale negative space.

3. 03

   Model the architectural surfaces

   Introduce warmer mid-tones (raw umber + red ochre + white) to suggest the roundness of the columns and the relief of the ornamental capitals. Use parallel, vertical strokes to reinforce cylindrical form. Add linear details—the grooves in the ceiling vault, the decorative patterns on the capitals—with a fine brush and darker mix. The columns should now read as three-dimensional forms within their shadow mass, not flat silhouettes.

4. 04

   Paint the tablecloths and foreground light

   Mix titanium white with a touch of raw umber for the warm, off-white linens. Paint the two tables with decisive strokes following the perspective lines. These white shapes are your brightest lights and should create a clear horizontal anchor in the foreground, visually separating the lit feast from the shadowed architecture above. Leave thin lines of darker ground showing between and around them for definition.

5. 05

   Block in the figures in red and earth tones

   Mix your dominant red (red ochre or cadmium red with slight umber for a historical warmth, not a bright modern red) and block in the hose and tunics worn by the attendants and some guests. Use warmer mid-browns for skin and clothing in shadow. Work side-to-side across the composition in roughly equal passages so colors remain consistent. The red should feel integrated with the warm tones of the architecture, not garish—restrain saturation.

6. 06

   Refine foreground figures and introduce background recession

   Sharpen the contours of the seated and standing guests in the foreground, adding darker modeling lines and finer details in faces and hands. Begin the background figures with a cooler, greyish mix (white + raw umber + touch of ultramarine), making them decidedly less saturated and lighter in value than the foreground. This atmospheric shift creates apparent distance without detail—the background figures should read as a composed crowd, not individual portraits.

7. 07

   Paint the landscape and sky

   In the arched openings and recessed passages that frame the distant landscape, paint a pale lavender-grey sky (ultramarine + white + touch of umber) and very distant, nearly colorless landforms. Use maximum lightness and minimum saturation here. The landscape should feel far and hazy, pulling the eye through the colonnade. This creates the final atmospheric perspective layer.

8. 08

   Final details and atmospheric glazes

   Add crisp highlights on tablecloths, jewelry, and ornamental details. Deepen any passages that need more definition. If working in tempera, consider light glazes of diluted color over background figures to cool and soften them further. Step back and assess the value separation between the dark architecture and the lit foreground—this is your primary compositional statement and should read clearly even from a distance.

• The perspective is unforgiving—if the orthogonal lines do not converge toward a single centered vanishing point with precision, the entire illusion collapses and the space reads as confused or tilted. Establish this architecture early and check it often.
• The red clothing on the figures can easily become too bright and vibrant, competing with and flattening the composition. Keep it warm but muted, integrated with the overall earth-tone harmony, or it will feel like a modern addition.
• Losing the value boundary between the deep shadow of the architecture and the lit foreground is the fastest way to forfeit depth. These two zones must be distinctly separated—the tablecloths and foreground figures should feel lit by a different light source than the columns above.
• The many background figures are easy to make too detailed or too dark. They must remain decorative and recessed—too much personality or contrast and they pop forward and shrink the apparent space. Treat them as a composed mass, not a crowd of individuals.
• The architectural ornament (capitals, relief carving, vault grooves) requires steady focus but can easily slip into fiddly overwork. Use fine brushes and linear marks confidently; hesitant or muddy detail reads as worse than simplified detail.

beginner friendliness

value contrast

palette complexity

compositional simplicity

brushwork visibility