plate no. 2026

Venice, The Piazzetta Looking South west towards Santa Maria della Salute

oil, canvasBaroquecityscapecityscapearchitecturewaterfiguresskyboats

some experience helpful

Recreating this painting will help students develop skills in atmospheric perspective and accurately depicting architectural details with light and shadow. It also provides practice in rendering figures within a landscape setting.

technical profile

palette complexity

brushwork visibility

value contrast

compositional simplicity

study guide

est. 15 hrs

approach — 8 steps

step 01
Sketch the basic composition, focusing on the placement of the building, the dome, and the horizon line.
step 02
Block in the sky with light blue, creating a soft gradient and indicating the cloud formation.
step 03
Establish the dark and light values on the building on the right, paying attention to the column structure.
step 04
Paint the dome and the buildings in the background, using muted colors to create atmospheric perspective.
step 05
Add the boats and masts, simplifying the details and focusing on their shapes.
step 06
Block in the figures in the foreground, using simple shapes and colors.
step 07
Refine the details of the building, the figures, and the boats, adding highlights and shadows.
step 08
Add final details and glazes to unify the painting and enhance the atmosphere.

color palette

primary · ultramarine blue · raw umber · titanium white · yellow ochre

secondary · burnt sienna · cadmium yellow light · ivory black

Achieve the atmospheric perspective by mixing blues with white and a touch of raw umber. Use burnt sienna and raw umber for the architectural details, lightened with yellow ochre and white for highlights.

techniques

·atmospheric perspective
·glazing
·scumbling
·chiaroscuro
·linear perspective

common pitfalls

→Overworking the details in the background, losing the atmospheric perspective.
→Creating too much contrast in the sky, making it look unnatural.
→Incorrectly rendering the perspective of the buildings and boats.
→Using colors that are too saturated, resulting in a flat and unrealistic painting.

materials

surface · stretched canvas

required

·stretched canvas 18x24
·oil paints (ultramarine blue, raw umber, titanium white, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, ivory black)
·palette
·linseed oil
·turpentine
·#2 round brush
·#6 flat brush
·palette knife