plate no. 7267

Windmills in the Ukrainian steppe at sunset

oilRomanticismlandscapewindmillssunsetsteppeskyfigureslandscape

what to study here

It shows how a near-black foreground, a hard-edged dark silhouette, and a continuous warm-to-cool sky gradation can carry a whole composition.

The useful lesson here is how much work a simple three-band value structure does. The vision read describes a bright sky, a moderate middle distance, and a foreground that is nearly black apart from small islands of pale dried grass. Squint and there are no competing mid-tones. The main windmill is the largest dark mass and anchors the eye, with hard, clean silhouette edges against the glowing sky and no soft halo. Study the sky separately. The vision guide describes a yellow-to-orange core at the horizon that cools into greens and then deeper blues toward the top, with loose strokes following the horizontal sunset band and warm blending into cool where orange meets green. Two smaller windmills sit in the hazy distance at right, barely darker than the sky, which sets up depth against the dark near windmill. Small seated figures at left give scale, and a faint crescent moon sits in the upper left. Try a small value thumbnail first, then a sky gradation study that stays continuous rather than banded.

key decision

Aivazovsky kept the foreground almost black and the main windmill a hard-edged dark silhouette, so the luminous sky carries all the light and color. Distant windmills are held close in value to the sky to create depth.

recreation guide

This recreation guide addresses the painting 'Windmills in the Ukrainian steppe at sunset' (1862) by Ivan Aivazovsky. Aivazovsky is characterized as a Romantic painter who, while oriented toward the Realist genre, remained faithful to Romanticism throughout his life, often depicting epic themes and the struggle between man and elements (Source 5). By 1862, his work was transitioning from the 'fantastic color' of his earlier years to a 'more truthful vision,' though he retained a highly academic style influenced by masters like Claude Lorrain and Salvator Rosa (Source 5). The subject matter aligns with his documented production of numerous Ukrainian landscapes, including scenes of the steppe and the Dnieper (Source 4). The painting likely employs the artist's characteristic attention to light and atmospheric effects, consistent with his reputation for delicate colors and dramatic scenes (Source 5).

estimated time

40-60 hours over 8-12 sessions

materials

6 items

steps

5 in sequence

materials

item	purpose	modern equivalent
Oil paints (Ultramarine, White, Black, Raw Umber, Yellow ochre/red earths)	Primary pigments for underpainting and glazing	Standard tube oils; ensure ultramarine is high quality for transparency
Linseed oil or Oil of Copavia	Medium for mixing paints and glazing	Stand oil or refined linseed oil; Copavia is a historical resinous oil
Turpentine	Thinner for initial washes and cleaning	Odorless mineral spirits or pure gum turpentine
Canvas or Panel	Support for the painting	Linen canvas primed with gesso
Charcoal	Underdrawing and initial shading	Vine charcoal or compressed charcoal
Varnish	For glazing layers once mastery is gained	Dammar varnish or synthetic resin varnish

preparation

surface prep

Prepare a white or light-toned ground. While specific preparation for this exact canvas is not detailed, Aivazovsky’s academic training suggests a standard primed surface. The sources indicate a method where the initial painting is done with oil of copavia, implying a surface capable of holding transparent layers (Source 1).

underdrawing

Begin with a charcoal underdrawing. Do not hesitate to hold the brush or charcoal against the model (or reference) to ascertain proportions. Make the study slightly smaller than life if working from a direct view, or scale appropriately if working from imagination/memory. Shade in charcoal and use a dry brush to model forms. Correct all errors in the charcoal stage, as charcoal offers little resistance to a brush and none to bread eraser. It is 'reckless in the extreme to put down paint with obvious errors in construction' (Source 3).

underpainting

Execute a grisaille (monochrome underpainting) using black, ultramarine, and white mixed with oil of copavia. This stage involves mentally extracting red and yellow colors, translating what would be left in nature if these two colors were not present. This creates a tonal foundation. The first and second paintings are done with this limited palette to establish form and light before introducing color (Source 1).

color palette

Ultramarine

Pure ultramarine

Underpainting and cool shadows; part of the initial monochrome scheme

White

Lead white (historically) or Titanium/Zinc white

Highlights and mixing in underpainting; lighter colors may use safflower oil to prevent yellowing (Source 8)

Black

Ivory black or Lamp black

Underpainting shadows and depth

Raw Umber

Pure raw umber

Setting the palette and initial earth tones (Source 3)

Yellow and Red tones

Yellow ochre, red earth, vermilion

Glazing and scumbling over the dry grisaille to introduce sunset warmth and steppe colors

composition

Aivazovsky’s landscapes often feature wide views with the sky as a dominant element, consistent with the Romantic tradition of depicting natural scenery and weather (Source 7). His work from this period (1862) marks a transition toward more truthful vision but retains epic and romantic themes (Source 5). The composition likely emphasizes the atmospheric conditions of the sunset, utilizing the 'delicate colors' noted in his later works, though 1862 is mid-period. The steppe setting implies a vast, open horizon, typical of his Ukrainian landscapes (Source 4).

step by step

underdrawing→underpainting→first pass→refining→finishing

underdrawing

step 01
Draw the composition in charcoal, shading and modeling with a dry brush. Compare the drawing to the reference or mental image frequently, placing it at eye level to check proportions.
Tip — Correct all construction errors now; do not proceed to paint if the drawing is flawed.
Charcoal underdrawing

underpainting

step 02
Mix black, ultramarine, and white with oil of copavia. Paint the entire composition in monochrome (grisaille), establishing light and shadow without red or yellow hues.
Tip — Mentally extract red and yellow colors, focusing on the structural tones that remain.
Grisaille

first pass

step 03
Allow the grisaille to dry completely. Begin introducing color by glazing and scumbling yellow and red tones over the monochrome base.
Tip — Treat this like tinting an engraving with watercolors; apply transparent coats of color.
Glazing and Scumbling

refining

step 04
Refine the sunset effects and steppe textures. Use scumbling (semi-opaque painting) over darker grounds to create coldness or grey blooms if needed for atmospheric depth.
Tip — Be aware of simultaneous contrast; adjacent colors will affect each other's appearance.
Scumbling

finishing

step 05
Complete the painting by adjusting tones. If mastery is gained, mix varnish with oil for final glazes to enhance luminosity.
Tip — Avoid overworking; Aivazovsky’s style is academic but retains a romantic fluidity.
Varnish glazing

critical techniques

Glazing

Applying a transparent coat of color over a dry underpainting to build up luminosity and depth, particularly for the sunset hues.

Scumbling

Applying semi-opaque paint over a darker ground to create texture, coldness, or atmospheric effects like grey blooms.

Simultaneous Contrast

Understanding that adjacent colors influence each other; the painter must account for how the sunset colors will alter the perception of the steppe and sky tones.

common pitfalls

→Putting down paint with obvious errors in construction or drawing, which is 'fatal to lucidity' (Source 3).
→Ignoring the effects of simultaneous contrast, leading to inaccurate color perception where the eye sees the complementary of the previously viewed color (Source 2).
→Attempting to complete the study in one painting session; the process requires going over the work at least three or four times (Source 3).
→Using too much red and yellow in the initial underpainting, which defeats the purpose of the grisaille method (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 windmills (number, style, position) are not described in the sources, so the artist must rely on general knowledge of Ukrainian steppe windmills or external references.
·The exact color palette for the sunset is not specified; the guide infers yellow and red tones based on the glazing instructions, but specific hues (e.g., orange, purple) are not detailed.
·Aivazovsky’s specific brushwork style for this particular painting is not described; the guide relies on his general academic and romantic tendencies.
·The size of the original painting is not provided, which affects the scale of the underdrawing and brushwork.

grounded in

The technical procedure in this guide traces to the following classical art-instruction texts.

The Practice of Oil Painting↗
- COLOURING A MONOCHROME — applied to Underpainting (grisaille), glazing, and scumbling techniques
- PAINTING FROM LIFE — applied to Underdrawing, charcoal usage, and iterative painting process
Laws of Contrast of Colour↗
- 315-318 — applied to Color theory and simultaneous contrast considerations

cross-referenced from

Named facts about this artwork and artist were checked against these reference pages.

Wikipedia bio — Ivan Aivazovsky↗
- part 5 & 7 — applied to Artist style, period context, and transition to truthful vision
- part 4 — applied to Subject matter relevance (Ukrainian landscapes)
Wikipedia: Oil painting↗
- part 4 — applied to Materials and pigment properties

Read more about the corpus on the sources page and how the guides are built on the methods page.

read from the painting

observed from the image, not the label

6 dominant colors, measured

what the eye sees

A large windmill dominates the immediate left-center, its body and sails silhouetted in dark reddish-brown against a blazing golden sky. The sun hangs low on the horizon, creating an intense yellow-to-orange core that bleeds upward through warmer tones, then cools into greens and deeper blues toward the top—a clear light source that floods the entire composition. Two smaller windmills recede into the hazy middle distance at right, barely darker than the atmosphere. The foreground steppe is rendered almost black, with two or three small human figures seated in pale grass at left, anchoring scale and narrative. A crescent moon floats in the upper left corner.

value structure

The painting splits into three distinct value bands: the sky occupies the brightest zone (yellows and mid-oranges), the middle distance is moderate (the distant windmills are slightly darker than surrounding sky), and the foreground is nearly black except for small islands of pale dried grass. The single largest mass of dark value is the main windmill's body and sail structure, which creates the primary anchor for the eye. Squint and you see three value zones: light, medium, and very dark, with no confusing mid-tones competing for attention.

observed palette and mixes

#eca62a
Cadmium Yellow Medium + touch of Lemon Yellow for bright sky core
Brightest area directly above the sun, the horizon itself
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Cadmium Yellow Medium + Cadmium Red Medium
The warmer orange zone in mid-sky, directly above the sun's glow
#a4a62e
Yellow Ochre + Ultramarine Blue with green earth undertones
Upper-middle sky where green emerges, cooler horizon edges
#63742c
Ultramarine Blue + Yellow Ochre + touch of Alizarin for depth
Upper sky where blue-green dominates, upper left near moon
#b3712c
Burnt Sienna + Alizarin Crimson + touch of Raw Umber
Windmill body and sail silhouette, shadow sides
#321a0e
Ultramarine Blue + Burnt Umber + Alizarin for deep shadow
Darkest foreground grass, deepest shadows on windmill base

edges and brushwork

The windmill sails and tower are rendered with hard, clean silhouette edges against the luminous sky—no soft halo, no lost edges here. The sky itself shows loose, directional brushwork following the horizontal sweep of the sunset band; you can see individual strokes blending warm into cool tones, especially where orange meets green. The foreground grass is painted with downward gestural strokes, suggesting texture without detail, while the small figures are minimal but definite marks.

a working sequence

01
Establish the horizon and block composition
Lightly map the horizon line roughly one-third from the bottom. Place the large windmill's rough silhouette in left-center; mark the position of the two distant windmills at right, slightly higher. Indicate the crescent moon in the upper left. Use thin burnt sienna or ultramarine to sketch—this is your roadmap only.
02
Underpaint the sky with broad, directional strokes
Working horizontally across the entire sky, lay down broad bands of color from bottom to top: brightest cadmium yellow at the horizon, warming to orange-red in the middle band, cooling to yellow-ochre and green in the upper third, and finally cooler blue-greens at the top. Keep edges soft and overlapping—don't worry about perfection yet. Let colors blend on the canvas.
03
Refine the sunset gradation with color temperature shifts
Work back into the sky with glazes and wet-blending. Strengthen the warmest yellows and oranges immediately above the horizon, letting them fade upward. Push more Ultramarine Blue + Yellow Ochre into the green zones where they meet the warm colors—this is where the eye should see complexity. The transition from warm to cool must be gradual, not abrupt. Add touches of white to lift the brightest core of the sky near the horizon.
04
Establish the foreground value anchor
Block in the entire foreground (below the horizon) with a mix of Burnt Umber + Ultramarine (nearly black) to establish the darkest darks. This is your value reference point—everything else will read against this. Leave small islands of lighter tone where the pale dried grass catches light.
05
Paint the windmills as silhouettes
Using your darkest mix (Burnt Sienna + Alizarin + touch of Ultramarine), paint the large windmill's body and sails as a coherent dark shape. Keep the outline clean where it meets the sky—this contrast is crucial to the painting's impact. The distant windmills should be slightly lighter and hazier than the foreground one, suggesting atmospheric depth; add a touch of sky color to your shadow mix for these.
06
Add figures, ground details, and reflective water
Paint the small seated figures in the left foreground with minimal marks—just enough to read as human. Add horizontal brushstrokes of pale ochre and orange to the damp ground near the foreground windmill, suggesting light reflecting off wet earth or shallow water. Preserve the crescent moon as a pale curve in the upper left—it should be barely visible against the sky.
07
Enhance atmospheric perspective on distant windmills
Lighten and soften the distant windmills at right by modifying their silhouettes slightly and surrounding them with more of the sky color. They should feel farther away—less distinct, more veiled by atmosphere. This pushes the foreground windmill forward.
08
Final refinements and edge control
Step back and assess. Sharpen edges where the large windmill meets the brightest sky—contrast gives drama. Soften any edges that feel too abrupt in the sky. Add subtle details to the foreground grass with downward gestural marks using a dry brush. Allow the painting to keep its overall luminosity; the sunset should feel like light itself, not just colors.

where studies of this painting go wrong

Making the sky gradation too abrupt or posterized—the yellow-to-orange-to-green transition must feel continuous, not like separate blocks of color.
Lightening the foreground too much or adding too many details—resist the urge. The drama comes from that near-black value. Save detail for the sky and middle distance.
Losing the crescent moon by making it too visible or dark. It should be a subtle accent, barely reading against the upper sky.
Overworking the windmill silhouettes and losing their clean, sharp edges against the luminous sky. Keep them dark and definite.

measured difficulty