Fundamentals Painting Mogilevtsev English (c)4art

V. A. Mogilevtsev

FUNDAMENTALS OF PAINTING

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Saint Petersburg

V. A. Mogilevtsev

FUNDAMENTALS OF PAINTING Textbook

Saint Petersburg 2014

ISBN-10: 5-90495-702-5 ISBN-13: 978-5-90495-702-5 V. A. Mogilevtsev M 74 Fundamentals of Painting: Textbook. – Saint Petersburg: 4art, 2014, 2nd Edition – 96p., illustrations. This book by V. A. Mogilevtsev should be noted for a number of reasons. This textbook is useful both for artists and anyone interested in art. Staying true to the traditions of the Academy we are so rightly proud of, this book is a result of many years of experience in teaching one of the most important disciplines of our school – depicting a human body. Clarity and great use of illustrations are the obvious merits of this publication.

Approved by the Department of Painting Repin St Petersburg State Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture

S. I. Mikhailovsky Rector of Repin St Petersburg State Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, Corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Arts

I found this book by Vladimir Mogilevtsev both interesting and necessary. It speaks about the particularities, principles and methods of painting in an accessible manner. The book is well illustrated, a lot of attention is given to the study of the best examples of international and Russian art; the book develops the traditions of the Russian school of realistic painting. I am sure that this book will be very useful for the development of young artists. V. S. Pesikov Professor, Head of the Department of Painting Repin St Petersburg State Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, Member of the Russian Academy of Arts

Fundamentals of Painting is a logical sequel to the previous book by Vladimir Mogilevtsev, Fundamentals of Drawing, which has been awarded a medal of the Russian Academy of Arts. This book is of interests for anyone who wishes to learn the fundamentals of painting, essential for mastering this complex form of art. The author is sharing his teaching experience, his own observations and conclusions, at the same time referencing the rich experience of our predecessors – the great artists of Russia and of the world. O. A. Eremeev Professor, Head of the Department of Drawing Repin St Petersburg State Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, Member of the Russian Academy of Arts

This book by V. A. Mogilevtsev is a result of many years of teaching experience, written with thought and care. His passionate desire to help beginner artists master the basics of the artistic alphabet deserves great respect. No doubt that this book will be useful for anyone who studies it. V. F. Rudnev People’s Artist of Russia, Professor of the Department of Painting Repin St Petersburg State Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture

It is impossible to become a professional in any area without mastering the basics. This fully applies to the masters of painting. With Fundamentals of Painting V. Mogilevtsev continues a series of books started by the author in 2007 with Fundamentals of Drawing, about the main methods practiced by artists. The clear merits of both the first and second books are the conciseness and ease to understand, strict order in which the tasks are presented, frequent references to the world art. I dare say that this textbook, just like the previous book, will be useful not only for the painters, but also for graphic designers, designers, art experts and even art critics. N. S. Kuteinikova Honored Worker of Art, PhD in Art, Professor of the Department of Russian Art Repin St Petersburg State Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture

Fundamentals of Painting 2nd Edition Printed in Russia text, illustrations: V. A. Mogilevtsev translator: Anna Edwards design: ARTINDEX editor: 4art cover: V. A. Mogilevtsev Reproductions made by students of Repin St Petersburg State Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture Every effort has been made to trace all copyright owners, but if any have been inadvertently overlooked, the Publisher will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements at the first opportunity. All rights reserved under international copyright conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or any means, electronic or mechanical, including photo copying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher.

4art 17 liniya V.O., dom 4-6 Saint Petersburg, Russia www.4-art.org © 4art, 2014 First published by 4art in 2012 © V.A. Mogilevtsev

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What this book is about Students of the institute learn and master painting by doing studies of arranged scenes from life. An “arranged scene” is a still life or a live model placed in certain color contexts that are usually backed by drapery. An instructor sets the scene according to the school curriculum. The program ensures that the complexity of tasks gradually increases. At first students paint a head, then a portrait with hands, after that they move on to painting nude figures. When working on a painting a student must solve numerous tasks in order to achieve a good result. It is impossible to solve all of these tasks at the same time. For this reason the process is divided into steps. Each step is dedicated to a task or series of tasks. How well a student completes each task determines the final result. We will complete several studies using this method. Whilst doing the studies we will try to make our

reader acquainted with the steps of the painting process and the main painting terms: what are color relationships, relationships of warm and cold tones, edges etc. We shall also discuss the materials used in oil painting. The book is arranged in the following manner. When you open the book, on the right there is a step by step description of the painting process. On the left there are commentaries and examples from classical works that illustrate how similar tasks were approached by outstanding artists from Russia and elsewhere. Painting can only be mastered through practice. This book is most useful if the reader is painting at the same time. During the painting process, questions may arise. This book offers the answers.

CONTENTS PORTRAIT Step by step process of creating a portrait.......................8 I. Concept ....................................................................9 Materials..................................................................10 Sketch.......................................................................12 II. Paintbrush drawing on canvas.............................14 Color relationships in painting............................16 III. Color relationships.................................................18 The first layer..........................................................18 IV. Working on the details..........................................20 1. The eyes...............................................................20 2. The nose..............................................................22 3. The mouth and chin..........................................24 4. The edges of color spots: face, light and shade, hair...............................................................26 5. Neck and shoulders...........................................28 V. Final step.................................................................30 PORTRAIT WITH HANDS Step by step process of creating a portrait.....................34 I. Concept ..................................................................35 Sketch.......................................................................36 II. Charcoal drawing on canvas.................................38 III. Color relationships.................................................40 The first layer..........................................................40 IV. Working on the details..........................................42 1. The head..............................................................42 2. The hands............................................................44 3. The clothes, the background.............................46 V. Final step.................................................................48 FIGURE Step by step process of creating a portrait ....................52 I. Concept ..................................................................53 Sketch.......................................................................54 II. Charcoal drawing on canvas.................................56 III. Color relationships.................................................58 The first layer..........................................................58 Painting the form...................................................60 IV. Working on the details..........................................62 1. The torso ............................................................62 2. The head .............................................................64 3. The hips, the arms..............................................66 4. The knees............................................................68 5. The feet................................................................70 6. The background ................................................72 V. Final step.................................................................72 COPYING Copying as part of the training at the Academy of Arts..........................................................................76 Step by step process..........................................................78 I. The choice of materials..........................................79 II. Charcoal drawing on canvas.................................80 Underpainting in brown.......................................82 III. The first layer in color............................................84 IV. Working on the details..........................................86 1. The head..............................................................86 2. The hands............................................................88 3. The clothes, the background.............................90 V. Final step.................................................................92 Conclusion, bibliography, about the author..................94

PORTRAIT

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fundamentals of painting

STEP BY STEP PROCESS OF CREATING A PORTRAIT I. Concept Sketch

II. Paintbrush drawing on canvas

III. Color relationships The first layer

IV. Working on the details 1. The eyes 2. The nose 3. The mouth and chin 4. The edges of color spots: face, light and shade, hair 5. The neck and shoulders

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Final step Unifying the painting, adjusting color relationships, establishing hierarchy of the details

One of the tasks of academic training is to teach students to conduct work in the correct order, so that they are able to freely express their feelings and thoughts in their creative work.

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I. CONCEPT Before starting work on a portrait you should determine what it is that attracted you to this particular scene: combinations of color, character and the emotional state of the model. These impressions should remain with you until you have finished working on the portrait. If you work emotionally, you will inevitably be able to see wholly. This will have a positive effect on the drawing and the color relationships. Your feelings will be “recorded” with the paint and will be transmitted to the viewer. Evidence of this can be seen in the wonderful portraits painted by Nikolai Fechin (1), Velasquez (2), Gainsborough (3).

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MATERIALS Canvas

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The canvas used for painting is usually linen (1). It should be strong and not too thin. Student works often have to be taken off their stretchers and kept in rolls. Paint often breaks and crumbles on thin canvas. Synthetic canvas stretches a lot which is damaging for dry paintings when they are re-stretched.

Ground Ground used by artists nowadays can be classified by: content – glue based (absorbent), emulsion based (semi-absorbent) and oil based (non-absorbent); texture – large grain, medium grain, smooth; color – white and color ground. 2

A ground is not just a basis for a layer of paint, it also affects the appearance of paint. White ground makes paint “sing”. Color ground sets the tone of the picture and harmonizes the colors. On a dark ground, paint “sinks in” (dark ground shows through and the colors look darker). It requires numerous re-applications of paint. Artists use this effect for modeling shape.

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Smooth oil based ground allows the use of layers of paint (glazes), and allows varnishing a painting to create a glossy surface. The appearance of a smooth surface is created by the smooth surface of the ground, and not by how thoroughly an artist smoothed out the paint. Artists use different types of ground depending on the desired result. Karl Briullov mainly used smooth oil ground in golden color (2). Ilya Repin liked a not very absorbent white ground (3). In his later work he preferred large grain canvas which today is called “Repin canvas”. Nikolai Fechin used very absorbent glue based ground (5) that allowed him to create different textures and bright painting. Sometimes artists use the color of an unprimed canvas, painting directly onto the glue sizing, like Valentin Serov in this portrait of Sergey Diaghilev (4). The Old Masters used various color grounds: Rembrandt and Velasquez – gray, El Greco – red-brown, Caravaggio – dark brown… For our exercise we shall use a canvas primed with white emulsion gesso. Ready to use gesso and primed canvases are available is stores.

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Paints There are a variety of paints available on the market. All paints are acceptable, but one should know how to use them in a skilled manner. It is better to start with paint made with natural pigments (1). They are less active than the chemically created ones and it is easier to avoid “mud” when mixing them. You should experiment with each color. Old masters had a very limited palette. (Eventually artists will develop a limited palette that suits them.)

Brushes Natural bristle brushes (2) are the most commonly used in oil painting. They can be round or flat. The choice of brush depends on the creative tasks and personal preferences of the artist. For example, flat brushes are convenient for modeling a shape with color. Round brushes are convenient for creating soft edges. You don’t need many brushes – too many of them are a nuisance. A canvas is “developed” with wider brushes. For painting a face smaller brushes are used. Backgrounds can even be painted with a wide flat decorator’s brush. For painting sharp edges it is recommended to use round kolinsky brushes №2. It is helpful to use two brushes of each size: one for cold colors, the other for warm colors. It helps to preserve the correct relationship of cold and warm tones and avoid “mud” in your work. Two brushes

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are convenient for adjusting the edges. Brushes must be thoroughly cleaned after each session.

Thinners In the process of work an artist needs to thin the paint. The most common thinner is linseed oil. Linseed oil is also used as a bonding agent for pigment in oil paint. Oil is applied on canvas in a very thin layer before the start of the work. During the painting process, if the oils have dried up, it is necessary to do an inter-layer coating. This prevents the work from hardening, bonds the layers of paint and allows the painting of soft edges. Inter-layer coating can be done with retouching varnish (4), available in stores. You can use a “triplemix”: 1 part linseed oil, 1 part pinene, ¼ part dammar varnish (3). Brushes may be rinsed in a cheaper white spirit or turpentine. (Pinene is the Russian equivalent of artists distilled turpentine.)

Palette Palettes (5) come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The size of a palette should be related to the tasks the artist sets. It is desirable to arrange colors on a palette in a certain order. An artist becomes accustomed to this arrangement and can take the correct paint without even looking. There are usually two oil containers attached to a palette: one for turpentine used for rinsing brushes, the other one for oil or a triple mix used for painting. Palettes should be kept clean.

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In a study (1) for the portrait of V. Bitner (2), publisher of a popular science magazine «Vestnik Znaniy», Ilya Repin aimed to capture the internal state of his sitter and the atmosphere of his office. 1

Sketch It is recommended to make a small sketch before you start work. The sketch should reflect the concept and your impression of the model. Even without any details the sketch must convey an impression of the completed work. The purpose of a sketch is to achieve the following: 1. Composition. Finding the mass and silhouettes of different color areas. 2. Establishing color and value relationships. 3. Choosing the colors you will paint this portrait with. 4. Texture. Each color area should have its own type of brushstrokes.

BAD The image is too large

BAD The image is too small

It is preferable to paint the sketch on the same type of surface as the actual portrait. Sometimes students use brown or grey cardboard or white paper which yellows under oil. Paint works differently on such surfaces. Outline the correct canvas proportions before you start working on your sketch. It is useful to keep margins; it will allow you, if necessary, to correct your composition. Our task is to complete a student exercise «Head with shoulders». We will use a 40cm x 50cm canvas. A single sketch is not always sufficient. It is best to create several to try different colors.

BAD The head should not be placed in the center of canvas when painted from this angle

GOOD

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II. PAINTBRUSH DRAWING ON CANVAS A drawing for an oil painting can be created using a variety of methods. We will review three methods using specific exercises as examples. The first method is a paintbrush drawing on canvas. The second method is a charcoal drawing on canvas fixed by oil paint (page 38). The third method is a charcoal drawing fixed by water based paint (page 56).

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Artists that have mastered the skill of drawing prefer to draw with a brush, straight onto canvas. We can see this in the examples below: an unfinished study by Alexander Ivanov (2) and a study of heads and hands by Karl Briullov (1). The drawing was created on a colored background with a thin round brush, in red-brown hue. A thin line

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often indicates shadows and folds of skin, for this reason the chosen hue is warm. If the drawing is created with a wide flat brush (3), then it’s better to use paint in cool hues, close to half tones. The color of the drawing should be an organic part of the painting.

You should apply a very thin layer of linseed oil before drawing. This will give your brush more mobility, and will allow corrections to be made more easily. It is difficult not to use linseed oil in oil painting, but the amount of oil should be minimal. An excess of linseed oil will yellow in time; for this reason, some artists prefer painting with thinners or distilled turpentine.

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The drawing should start with the outline of the image. Thus we solve two tasks: composition and proportion. As a human figure consists of many planes, attention should be paid to places where the planes meet. Without that, it’s impossible to capture a likeness in the silhouette. Then we draw according to Pavel Chistyakov’s principle: “from general to specific”. We outline the area of the hair, the area of the face. Within the face we outline the eye sockets, nose and lips. Curved surfaces are in halftone, therefore they have their own silhouettes. Within the eye sockets we outline the dark pupils and the shades etc. Make sure these details are on the same axis and are symmetrical in relation to the center line. In this we draw with a big flat brush. The color of the paint should be cool, silver-green, close to halftones of the face that, in turn, are affected by the surroundings. If you add some titanium white and natural umber to the mix it will dry by the next day.

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COLOR RELATIONSHIPS IN PAINTING Mutual penetration of colors, value, outline, “mass” and texture of color spots Color relationships Any painting consists of the flat surface (the base) and color spots on this base. A color spot is the main tool of the painter. Each color spot makes its own impact. Several color spots that constitute the painting may evoke a feeling of harmony, delight and pleasant associations but they may also irritate or leave the viewer indifferent. These are called “color relationships”.

Mutual penetration of colors In the world around us everything has its own color. What we see is reflected color. Light falls on an object, and then “bounces” from the surface on everything around it. The light hits all surrounding things including our eyes. The bounced light transports color onto nearby objects, thus changing the color of these objects. This is called “reflection”, or “reflected color”. The more intense the color of the surface and the brighter the sunlight is, the stronger the reflected colors are. If you take a white porcelain jug and put it outside on a wooden table on a summer’s day in the countryside, you will see the blue of the sky on the jug, warm color reflected from the table on the bottom of the jug, green reflections from the trees on the sides etc. This influence is less intense indoors because there is not as much light there, but it still exists. In painting, when color penetrates from one color spot into another it harmonizes them and intensifies their impact.

K.Korovin. Portrait of T. Liubotovich

Tonal Value Pure white or very dark black colors are usually not usually used in a painting. As a rule, the middle part of the value scale is used.

tonal range in classical painting

I. Levitan. The Evening Bells

The more active and loud the color spots are in a painting, the closer they are in tonal value. And, on the contrary, complex greys should be compensated by differences in tonal values to avoid the painting looking dull.

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Silhouette Each color spot has its own silhouette. Each area of color in a painting has its own silhouette. The silhouette carries information about the proportions. If there is no likeness in the silhouette of the head, silhouette of the face or silhouette of the hair, the artist will have failed to capture the sitter’s likeness. The silhouette contains the main information about the shape. Any shape can be broken down into a number of planes. When the position of a plane changes, the effect of light upon the plane changes too. In paintings, it means the character of the edge between two spots of color changes as well. The points in a silhouette where planes meet are called “insert points”. They are important not just for the analysis of the edges, but also as means to add expression and variety to the silhouette. That doesn’t apply exclusively to portraits. If you study landscapes by Isaac Levitan, you will find that the expressiveness of the shapes in his landscapes are achieved by the same method. Precisely defined silhouettes give a painting a stronger impact and expressiveness.

I. Levitan. Golden Autumn

«Mass» Each spot of color has its own “mass”. As there are no two identical items in nature, “masses” of colors in the composition of a painting should never be repeated either. The greater the sizes of color spots differ, the stronger the impression from the painting. Please note that when speaking about mass and silhouettes, we mean not only the mass of the depicted objects but also the space between them. The mass and the silhouettes of this “negative space” in a composition are as important as the mass of the depicted objects.

F. Malyavin. Wirlwind

The texture of shapes If you look around and try to see shapes instead of things, it won’t be hard to notice that each of them has its own texture. Sky has one texture, grass another, trees yet another and so on. A variety in textures is present in all genres of painting. In works by Van Eyck, Holbein and in the still lives of 17th century Dutch painters we see that the textures of each shape are well defined. Artists of the later eras starting from the second half of the 19th century indicate the differences in texture by physical brushwork, thus achieving a decorative effect. Look at the textures in works by Van Gogh, Valentin Serov and others. The difference in textures gives a painting a sense of life.

V. Serov. Portrait of E. Loseva

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III. COLOR RELATIONSHIPS The first layer

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Color relationships play a big role in painting from life. The four color spots present in our scene should work together in a way that evokes a sense of harmony. This is one of the main tasks of painting (1).

To achieve this you should look at the scene as a whole, to feel the “sound” of colors without being distracted by details. Many masters, because of their experience could start painting “from a detail” allowing them to see the complete painting in their imagination. Artists from the past used colored grounds and imprimatura for harmonization of colors and setting the tone of the painting. In those days painting from life was uncommon, and it helped solving coloristic tasks (2). (Imprimatura is the first transparent layer of color applied to the ground.)

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We work from life on white canvas, so looking wholly at the model we first and foremost try, beautifully and emotionally, to capture large color relationships. Make sure the oil on the canvas has not dried up before starting work. If it has dried up, prepare the canvas with the “triple mix” (see the Materials section) or retouch varnish. It’s best to start with darker areas. They should not be black, but instead should have color. White areas are not painted with pure white, but rather indicated with a certain color. A white canvas and a presence of oil on the surface make the paint clear and colorful even in a mix with white pigment. Start painting from the outline towards the middle, this way your drawing won’t be distorted. We start with the hair, then the background, the clothes and add the color of the skin last. Do not forget about the mutual penetration of color (3). The green background will have shades of red and gold from the neighbouring areas, the red will have some green in it etc.

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IV. WORKING ON THE DETAILS

In this small portrait of M. Yakunchikova you can see Mikhail Vrubel’s interest in color analysis.

Identifying major and minor details Look at your sketch and determine what are the most important and what are the minor details. You should not allow all the details to be equal. The sense of unity and completion is achieved when the details vary in significance and the degree of execution. In a portrait, the most important detail is usually the eyes. Next are the nose, the mouth and the chin, then the forehead and the neck. After that we create variety in edges of the silhouette of the face, the hair and the clothes.

I. The first layer

II. Adjusting the colors

III. Defining the edges

1. The Eyes In painting, the main information about the form is in the silhouette of the color spot. By varying the edges we give a given color spot an illusion of volume. If the paint is dry, it is necessary to apply interlayer coating. The coat of triple mix should be very thin, so it should be rubbed in with a cloth or the palm of your hand. It will prevent the work from tarnishing and will allow paint to bond with the previous layer. We start shaping the details with adjusting the color. In order to see the true color relationships you should look at your painting as a whole. When adjusting the color, make sure you have alternating

warm and cold tones. After that use the remaining mixes of paint to define the edges of the color spots. The edges are best done with two brushes: one for each color mix. The shape of a head consists of a number of planes. As the position of a plane changes so does the effect of light on that plane. Therefore the character of the edge between this and an adjoining plane changes too. Keep in mind the overall shape of the head. In the examples below we can see how the form was shaped by Velasquez (1), Karl Briullov (2) and Valentin Serov (3).

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This scheme shows variability of the edges

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I. The first layer



2. The Nose When painting a portrait indoors, remember that the shades on the head are always warm, and the light is cold. The light consists of three parts: the highlight and halftone are cold, and the light space between them is warm. In general, because of the prevalence of cold tones, the light appears colder than the shade. There is an alternation of warm and cold tones in the face; artists call it “warm-cold relationships”. The contrast of warm and cold tones makes a color sound and creates the impression of life. An absence of this contrast makes a color lifeless.

We start shaping the nose with adjusting the color. Keeping our concept in mind, we try to look at the scene as a whole. Adjust the color, correct the drawing if necessary. Don’t forget about “warm-cold relationships”. Determine what is halftone and what is a shade. Sometimes soft daylight and the movement of the sitter make such a decision difficult. The shades are warm, halftones are cold. The dark areas of nostrils are always warm and not very active in tone.

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I. The first layer



3. The Mouth and Chin Begin with adjusting the silhouette of the lips, checking their location in the silhouette of the face. Apply the color according to the planes of the form. At the same time we try looking at the head as a whole, to see the tone of the lips and chin in relation to other parts of the face. After allocating color spots, we work on the edges between then. Usually the corners of the mouth and the gap between the lips are accentuated. We look for the differences in the edge of the

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silhouette of the lips first, then the silhouette of the chin against the background and the border between light and shade of the cheek. The lower plane of the chin will have a reflection from the clothes. Don’t forget about alteration of warm and cold colors. Frequently, due to multiple re-painting or darkening of the paint, the warm-cold relationships disappear, the tone becomes neither cold nor warm; that is mud.

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I. The first layer



4. The edges of color spots: Face, Light and Shade, Hair Prior to adjusting the edges (that is modeling the form), we adjust the color. Working on the edges between light and shade, don’t forget about warm-cold relationships: the shade is warm, and the halftone that is situated on the border between light and shade is cold. As the position of the planes on the head consist of changes, the effect of light upon them changes too. Therefore the edges between these planes vary. To see the difference in the character of edges you should look at the head as a whole. When you do that you simultaneously see all areas and are

therefore able to compare them. In some areas the edges are very soft, merging with the nearby color spot, and in some the edges are hard and sharp. There are no two identical edges in nature, but if you look at each part separately, the edges will all look the same. The volume and texture of hair are achieved by careful work on the outline of the silhouette. Inside the silhouette the differences are insignificant, and are always subordinate to the outline. Make sure the highlights don’t break up the area of the hair. If you look at the hair as a whole, they are not very noticeable.

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A forehead, especially a forehead of a female model, is painted very delicately; try not to break it with too many halftones. The sense of volume is achieved by variety in edges near the hair and on the border between light and shade.

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I. The first layer



5. The Neck and Shoulders A neck in a female portrait, as well as a forehead, is painted as a whole, without breaking it up with unnecessary halftones. The effect of volume is created on the border between light and shade, and also on the outline of the silhouette. Pay attention to the area where the neck is “inserted” into the shoulders. Start building shape by adjusting the color. Looking at the model as a whole, apply the color on the form.

As the form has volume, there should not be repetition in tone. When painting red, don’t forget about the mutual influence of nearby colors. Search for green in red, and red in green. Both hues will be present in the color of the body, and clothes will have the golden tint of the body in them. Mind the difference in textures. After establishing all the colors, build the shape by working on the edges.


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V. FINAL STEP Unifying the painting, adjusting color relationships, establishing hierarchy of the details. Revealing the character of the model.

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In the final step of the process we go back to the holistic perception of the portrait and the model, specify the color relationships and the character of the edges. To achieve integrity and completeness of the portrait, we come back to the main details and define them with greater attention. Look at these portraits created by artists of different eras as examples: “Portrait of Lady-in-Waiting” by Rubens (1); “Portrait of M. Mussorgsky” by Repin (2);

“Portrait of Sir Richard Southwell” by Holbein (3); “Portrait of A. Emelianova” by Surikov (4). You can see strict subordination of the details in all of these portraits. Sometimes you may want to make small changes after all the details are defined. Inter-layer coating will provide you with freedom to make such changes easily.

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PORTRAIT WITH HANDS

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STEP BY STEP PROCESS OF CREATING A PORTRAIT I. Concept Sketch

II. Charcoal drawing on canvas


IV. Working on the details 1. The head 2. The hands 3. The clothes, the background

V. Final step Establishing hierarchy of the details, unifying the painting

In the course of their creative life, every artist develops their own work process depending on personal preferences. Chaotic work is not common amongst professional artists.

portrait with hands

I. CONCEPT Before you take up your brushes, look at the model and decide for yourself what is interesting in this scene. Sometime students complain that they don’t like a scene. This is a sign of laziness and limitation of an artist’s imagination. There is a person, and a person is the whole world. Revealing this world is a huge task for any artist. This task will determine composition and color choices. Portraits by Valentin Serov (1, 3) and Ilya Repin (2) can serve as examples. Sometimes a model impresses and inspires straight from the start, but sometimes you need to work to find and determine the artistic interest. To teach students to see beauty in the ordinary is one of the aims of our school.

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Sketch The purpose of a sketch is to capture an impression that will inform the future portrait. You need to have a concept of the character of the model, their emotional state, their movement. With your concept in mind choose an appropriate format and composition to fit in this format. 4

In these examples (3–5) we see how artist Valentin Serov first recorded his concept in a pencil sketch, trying to express the impression of an accidentally seen moment. In another drawing from life he searched for the position of the figure in the format, expressing “masses” and silhouettes of the spots of color. When looking at the sketches for the official portraits by Karl Briullov (1, 2) it is easy to imagine the complete painting. Without specific details or facial features it transmits the emotional state and the mood of the sitters. Color choices play a big role in a sketch. Use your sketch to make important decisions about how you are going to use color.

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II. CHARCOAL DRAWING ON CANVAS Charcoal was frequently used in preparatory drawings by the most famous masters. There are well known charcoal drawings that were started as preparatory drawings, but the artists, immersed in the process, understood that they had expressed everything they wanted in charcoal and left them as they are, without touching paint. The portrait of Eleonora Duse by Ilya Repin (1) is an example. A notable example by Valentin Serov is the unfinished portrait of Princess Polina Shcherbatova (3).

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Vine charcoal is used to create a preparatory drawing for a painting on canvas. It becomes an organic part of a painting as a natural pigment; its excess is easily removed with a cloth. Do not apply too much of this material because it will mix with your paint causing the color to become muddy.

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First we outline the silhouette of the figure within the canvas. We are solving two tasks: composition and large proportions. Then we mark out the shape of the head, hands, clothes etc. In the silhouette of the head we find the outline of the face and the hair. In the area of the face we search for the silhouettes of the eye sockets, nose and mouth. Draw according to

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the principal “from general to specific”. Keep in mind your knowledge of the construction of shape and anatomy. Drawing hands always starts with the silhouette. It is necessary to outline them simultaneously with the forearm; there is always a connection between the movement of a hand and a forearm. Then we work within the silhouette of the hand.

portrait with hands

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III. COLOR RELATIONSHIPS The first layer Sometimes a charcoal drawing is fixed. Nowadays readymade fixatives are available. In the past charcoal was fixed with a mix of water and low fat milk or water and sugar. In this unfinished painting by English painter George Dawe (1) a charcoal drawing is showing through the paint. Golden imprimatura and experience allowed the artist to paint ‘from a detail’. Usually we start painting from the dark areas. Following this principle, we mark out the shades in the figure. At the same time we fix the drawing with oil paint. You may add some natural umber into the paint mix; being a natural dryer it will

make the paint dry by the next day. This will allow applying a thin layer of linseed oil on the surface and painting freely. When working on the first layer, start with the background, then paint the clothes. The face and the hands are best painted last taking the surrounding colors into consideration. Start painting from the outline. This way the drawing will not be distorted. In portraiture, the most important detail is always the head, then the hands. Clothes and background are always secondary in terms of intensity and “completeness”. 1

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portrait with hands

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I. The first layer


II–III. Adjusting the colors and defining the edges

1. The Head Before you start the second layer, it is necessary to prepare the surface. This will prevent the paint from darkening, and will allow it to bond with the previous dry layer. This inter-layer coating can be done with the triple mix that we also use as a thinner. Alternatively we can use a retouch varnish. We start shaping the head whilst

making sure the colors are true. To see the color, we look at the scene as a whole: you should be able to see not just the head, but also the background and the clothes. Apply the color on the form, adjust the character and proportions if necessary. After we’ve adjusted the color, we give our silhouettes volume by adjusting the character of the

edges. The main information about the form is on the outline of a color spot. Within the color spot, the edges between halftones are adjusted as necessary, depending on the concept. This can be seen in the portraits by famous masters: Rembrandt (1), Ilya Repin (2) and Valentin Serov (3).

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I. The first layer



2. The Hands In a portrait, hands are always less dominant than the head. Even in very detailed portraits like this one by Holbein (1), they are subordinate in value. In Valentin Serov’s portrait (2) the head dominates the hands due to the greater detail. Please note his very careful way of painting the silhouette of

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hands. The differences within the color spot are always less significant in comparison to the silhouette. We see that in the works by Velasquez (3) and other artists. Once we’ve defined the color we start building the shape by adjusting the edges of the silhouette. To see the difference in edges you should

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look at the canvas as a whole, in the same way you determined the colors. Define the edges within the silhouette, as much as is necessary, and don’t forget about warmcold relationships.

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I. The first layer



3. The Clothes, the Background Clothes are a background for head and hands, so should be painted more loosely. Once we’ve adjusted the color, we define the edges of the silhouette of the clothes and the border between light and shade. Pay attention to the value gradation between the folds. Remember that every color spot

in a painting should have its own texture. The difference in textures gives paintings a sense of life and adds decorative impact. Such a difference is visible both in very detailed portraits by Holbein (1) and in loosely painted works by Ilya Repin (3) and Valentin Serov (2). Leave the background

as it is and only enhance the edges of the chair the model is sitting on. Loose texture of the background created with wide brushstrokes will strengthen the effect of completion from the head and the hands.

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V. FINAL STEP Establishing hierarchy of the details, unifying the painting To achieve the integrity and completion of your painting, return to the major detail and enhance it. It will automatically appear more significant than its surrounding. If the main detail is dominated by any excessively active parts of the background you can tone them down (after inter-layer coating).

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Young artists should find creative interest in life around them. Portraits by Filipp Malyavin can be an example. He captured his fellow students during their time in the Academy of Arts. Today portraits of Konstantin Somov, Anna Ostroumova-Lebedeva (1, 3) and others are in the Russian Museum. Nikolai Fechin’s father, in a sheepskin coat, sitting on an edge of a sofa, became the sitter for a remarkable portrait (2).

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portrait with hands

FIGURE

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STEP BY STEP PROCESS OF CREATING A FIGURE I. Concept Sketch

II. Charcoal drawing on canvas Fixing the drawing


IV. Working on the details 1. The torso 2. The head 3. The hips, the arms 4. The knees 5. The feet 6. The background

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Final step Establishing hierarchy of the details, adjusting color relationships, unifying the painting

Although feelings and emotions of an artist are an important part of creative work, to achieve success you need to follow a certain process.

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I. CONCEPT When an instructor creates a scene to be painted by students, he sets the colors, searches for an interesting posture for the sitter, determines various masses of color, rhythms and textures with drapery. The task of the student is to develop a concept for their work based on their impression of the scene. There should not be soulless copying. In the examples below you can see how passionate the past students of the Academy of Arts were towards their work (1–3). Painting is an emotion recorded on canvas. The concept is recorded in a small sketch.

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One of the main teaching methods of the academic system is painting a human figure in a certain color environment. It is interesting to trace how the style of those scenes and the tasks the student solved changed over time depending on the dominant style of the era. In a work by Andrei Ivanov (1) we see a model in a complex movement, resembling Prometheus chained to a rock. The background is plain brown, and only red drapery introduces a color chord. This was a time of early classicism. Color did not play a leading role in painting, but drawing was given great importance. We see how thoroughly the shapes are defined, the face resembles an antique sculpture with

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an expression of suffering. It is clear that Ivanov was influenced by classical antique examples. In a work by Andrei Ryabushkin (2) we see a similar brown background, red drapery on the cubes and equally attentive definition of the shape. There is a visible difference between Ryabushkin and Ivanov in the interpretation of the form. Andrei Ivanov idealises the figure: the model resembles an antique sculpture. Andrei Ryabushkin is interested in the depiction of a realistic form. We see a powerfully-built Russian peasant man. The influence of the Peredvizhniki movement on the academic process is clear. (The Peredvizhniki were a group of Russian realist artists in the

Sketch An artist usually records their concept in a sketch. Using minimal means, we should convey an impression from the scene, set the color relationships, demonstrate the movement of the figure, determine the quantity and proportions of color spots. A sketch should convey an impression of the complete work. We decide which paint color we are going to use; there should not be too many of them: from five to seven is enough. For a sketch, it is best to use the leftovers of the same primed canvas you are going to use for your main work, as paint acts differently on different types of gesso and canvas.

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1860’s who created an artist’s co-operative in protest at the academic restrictions that were prevalent at the time. Possibly the best known of these artists is Ilya Repin.) In a student work by Leonid Evreinov (3), created at the beginning of the 20th century, the definition of the shape is taken over by color tasks. When setting a scene the instructor creates a color environment for the model. The task of a student was to find color relationships that would evoke emotion and convey an impression of color harmony. The scene displays the influence of impressionism. The approach to creative tasks set by the art schools of the Soviet era are demonstrated in a remarkable study by Boris Nikolaev (4).

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II. CHARCOAL DRAWING ON CANVAS Fixing the drawing This is executed in charcoal and fixed with tempera. We shall use a thin round brush to contour the drawing. The preferable hue of tempera is red-brown. The contour line often indicates shadows and folds of the skin that are always warm. Red-brown outlines can be seen in the paintings of Karl Briullov, Alexander Ivanov and many other artists of the 19th century. A tempera drawing for an oil painting is visible in Jan van Eyck’s unfinished work, “St Barbara” (1). Fixing a drawing with water based paint was widely used in multi-figure paintings by Boris Ioganson and other Soviet artists. This approach is rarely used in studies from life. We mention this method here because students will face the following problem: once they concentrate on painting they

often damage the drawing, and when they are correcting the drawing they destroy the painting. Water-based paint is not soluble in oil or thinners. That is why, once you have fixed your drawing with tempera or gouache, you can focus on painting without worrying about the drawing. After the first layer the drawing will still show through the oil paint. After the second layer it will disappear. This creates the effect of a children’s coloring book: whatever a child does with pencils, the original outline stays there. The initial drawing for waterbased paint is best done with charcoal; it is easily wiped away with a cloth.

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First of all we position the silhouettes of the figure and drapery on canvas. Ignoring the details, establish composition and large proportions. Then find the silhouette of the torso, the head and other parts within the silhouette of the figure. It is useful to have knowledge of classical proportions. The middle of a male figure is at the pubis; it is slightly lower in a female figure. If you divide the top half of the body in half, the middle will be on the level of nipples. If you divide the top quarter in half, you find a height of a head. The center of the lower half of the body is at the top of tibia (at knee joint).

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The motion of a figure is created by the position of the centerline and the relocation of the axis that can be drawn through the basic points of the chest, the pelvis, the head and the knees. For a figure whose weight is supported by one leg, the center of gravity is particularly important. To create a sense of balance, a vertical line drawn through a jugular notch should go through the base of the ankle of the supporting leg. This vertical line is also important for the motion of the head. Note the point this line goes through (an eye, an ear, a nose etc).

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III. COLOR RELATIONSHIPS The first layer

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Color relationships are of great importance in painting from life. Several color spots present in our scene should evoke emotions and create a sense of harmony.

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A drawing fixed by ink or tempera allows a student not to worry about it, because it will not be distorted by oil. It gives an artist an opportunity to concentrate on color relationships. Prior to painting, rub a thin layer of linseed oil into the canvas, it will make paint more mobile and transparent even in a mix with white paint. Our drawing will be showing through the first layer of paint. This method was widely used by Dutch painters whose works are notable for an abundance of details (1, 2). The form may be prepared in silver-grey halftones that will be present in all areas of our painting. Then we use color to mark out dark areas and set the background. After that we move onto the figure. The human body is the most complex color spot. It is strongly influenced by nearby colors, for that reason we paint it last. When developing color relationships, we don’t forget about the mutual penetration of colors (see “The Large Bathers” by Cezanne, 3). Pay attention to the tone of the work: there should not be any black voids nor isolated white areas. Don’t forget about warm-cold relationships.

Make sure there are no repetitions in the light. Head, torso, belly, arms, thighs, lower leg and feet have their own tonal value. The same applies to the shades of the figure. III

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PAINTING THE FORM The edges The main information about the form is on the edge of the silhouette of the color spot. Once the position of a surface changes, the amount of light upon it changes too, therefore the character of the edge of this color spot varies.


Alteration of warm and cold tone in skin (warm-cold relationships)

A figure from a painting by Titian, “Venus of Urbino”, is an example of integrity and tonal variety. There are no color nor tonal repetitions in nature.

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Many artists – Michelangelo, Titian, Rembrandt – were enchanted by the infinity of tonal variety of the human form in their later years. They aspired to achieve the same variety in their works (1–3). Artists of our school were interested in this area too. The example is a watercolor study by Mikhail Vrubel, “A model in the

Renaissance setting” (4), created during his studies at the Academy of Arts. Influenced by the Spanish painter Mariano Fortuny, Vrubel discovered for himself the world of variety in nature’s shape and color. This passion influenced the rest of Vrubel’s creative career and through him – the creative works by many Russian artists.

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I. The first layer



Determining major and minor details Without dominant details a painting will look dull and incomplete. Let’s determine the hierarchy: 1. torso, 2. head, 3. hips and arms, 4. knees, 5. feet, 6. background.

1. The Torso The process of painting the details of the torso are as follows: after the first layer we apply color onto the shape. Give the color spots shape by varying the edges. You should look at the torso wholly in order to see the color and tonal difference – this is also necessary when creating a variety

in the edges. These examples show how painting the edges was approached by Velasquez (1), Alexei Egorov (2). Mind the alternation of warm and cold tones when applying color, remember the principles of construction and anatomy (3).

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I. The first layer



2. The Head We have discussed painting the head in a previous chapter. In this exercise the only difference is the size of the image, the process is the same. Adjust the color, at the same time revealing the character of the model. It is desirable to show the state, the mood of a person. Keep in mind your knowledge of the anatomy and the principles of construction (3). This model has one distinct feature – a beard, which together with the hair

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constitutes a single color spot. After adjusting the color the main attention is given to the edges between the background and the face. Within the area of the hair the modeling is performed as necessary. If should always be less “done” than the silhouette. We see that in portraits by Holbein (1), Rembrandt (2) and other masters. The details of the face are painted using the same method, as in the exercise “The Head”.

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I. The first layer



3. The Hips, the Arm Remember to apply inter-layer coating prior to working on the next detail. When painting the pelvis area, look through the torso. The light in this part of the figure is less active than the light on the chest. Please note that a thigh begins to protrude towards the viewer not from the iliac crest, but a bit lower, where the rectus femoris muscle is showing from under the sartorius muscle and the tensor fascia latae muscle (1–3). When depicting paired details (wrists, knees, feet) the major detail is painted more thoroughly; the other

detail is only painted as thoroughly as is necessary. When painting the wrist, first of all pay attention to the silhouette, then to the detail within the silhouette. Choosing the right accents is very important for conveying the plasticity of the wrist and the forearm. An arm, like any elongated detail, has a tonal gradient: the wrist is always “denser” than the pelvis region. Keeping anatomy and construction in mind, we apply color on the form, then, by adjusting the edges, we give shapes to the color spots. This scheme shows variability of the edges

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I. The first layer



4. The Knees Out of the two knees, the major one is the knee of the bent leg. Using contrasts we “pull out” this knee towards the viewer. A thigh of the bent leg and a thigh of the supporting leg are on different planes. There should be a tonal difference between them. Ankles are also in different planes, in a checkerboard order in relation to the thighs. Remember the construction and anatomy (3). The top of the tibia and the knee-cap form two similar triangular shapes (1, 2). After standing for a long time blood rushes to the lower limbs,

and they become red with a tint of violet. That is why it is better to paint the knees with the color they had in the beginning of the session. The difference between the knees should be not only in tone, but also in the degree of detail. Pay more attention and time to the bent knee, rather than the knee of the supporting leg. Student works very often demonstrate the opposite. After applying the color, adjust the edges: first on the silhouette of the knee, then within the silhouette. We give volume to the color spots by varying the edges. This scheme shows variability of the edges

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I. The first layer


A foot is a very complex form located in space, and for that reason accentuating the key details and defining the edges between the foot and the background is very important. A lack of variety in edges of the silhouette in beginners’ works make the feet look like “boots and hoofs”. II. Adjusting the colors


5. The Feet The foot of the supporting leg is the major one. It is accentuated with tonal value and modelled more carefully. In painting from life keep in mind that just like knees, feet turn red after a long period of standing. Feet should be different in color from other parts of the body, but should not be too red. That is why the color relationships should be chosen from first

impressions. Apply the color on the form and then adjust the edges on the borders of the color spots. Sometimes, because of the lack of space in the studio, students can be too close to the model thereby looking down on the surface the model is standing on and so looking down on the feet. To avoid the effect of “hanging” feet, the horizon line is deliberately lowered.

To achieve that you should be painting in a sitting position. People’s feet are often deformed by footwear or have age related peculiarities. To be able to depict a foot in a beautiful and convincing manner it is necessary to know the construction and anatomy (1–3). The ideal foot can be seen in classical sculpture.

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6. The Background Looking widely at the scene, adjust the color spots in the background. It is best to look at the background through the figure. Keep in mind the tonal gradient from left to right. A background is usually warmer and denser at the top, and lighter and cooler at the bottom. This is caused by daylight penetrating into the room from a window, from top to bottom. Each spot in the painting should have not just its own color but also its own texture. That is why the brushstrokes for each spot should be different. The details of the background should be executed less thoroughly than details in the figure. There should also be a difference in the execution of the details. If the background is painted last, like in our case, it is necessary to come back to the figure and re-define the main details in relation to the background. If time is limited it is better to start with the background and then leave it, concentrating on the figure.

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V. FINAL STEP

Establishing hierarchy of the details, adjusting color relationships, unifying the painting

In the final stage of the work we come back to the holistic perception of the scene. We correct the tonal relationships if they are distorted. Generalize and flatten some minor details of the background so that they do not distract from the major ones. A very thin layer of oil left on the surface as a result of the inter-layer coating allows continuing work easily and freely. The paints settles and bonds with the dried up surface. Any degree of completion of the details can be achieved by adjusting the color and the edges. The presence of oil on the surface of the painting makes a mix with white paint transparent, which enables lightening halftones or, in contrast, submerging details in tone. This is sometimes called glazing. Beware the mindless painting of large areas of the body as it may destroy tonal differences. Make sure you preserve warm-cold relationships. When establishing the hierarchy of the details, an artist usually returns to the main details and paints them more attentively. They automatically become more active, making the painting unified and complete. In the given example (1) you can see how even in the absence of arms, legs and a head the only thoroughly painted detail – the torso – makes a painting complete. 1

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COPYING

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COPYING AS PART OF THE TRAINING AT THE ACADEMY OF ARTS Since the Academy of Arts was founded copying has played a big role in the teaching process. The training started with the copying of samples. The samples are the drawings of the best European masters. Then, the classical forms and proportions were learnt from plaster casts of antique sculptures. A part of the collection of casts can be seen today in the Academy museum. Only after successfully completing this stage were students allowed to draw a live model. Having founded the Academy of Arts in 1758, Ivan Shuvalov presented it with a collection of European paintings and drawings. Over the years this collection has been added to regularly thanks to the efforts of successive presidents of the Academy and patrons. Copying shaped and developed the artistic taste of young painters. Working with outstanding examples of European art taught them the technique and methods of creating these pieces.

I. Eggins. The Deposition. A copy from the original by Raphael

G. Mikhailov. Madonna with the Archangel Raphael, Tobias and St Jerome. A copy from the original by Raphael

V. Sverchkov. Virgin Mary. A copy from the original by Perugino

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G. Ugryumov. The Rape of Europe. A copy from the original by Veronese.

During training, students copied works from the collection of the Academy museum. Senior students were given an opportunity to copy in the Hermitage Museum. Copying continued even after graduation. The best students, awarded with the “pensioner’s” trip abroad, were prescribed to copy outstanding works by the Old Masters. Copying allowed the graduates to come closer to the skill level of these artists and to fully appreciate the greatness of the masterpieces. Some of these copies can be seen in the halls of the Scientific-Research Museum of the Russian Academy of Arts. (The “pensioner’s” trip abroad is so called because the best graduates of the Academy were awarded a trip, usually to Italy, all expenses paid, in order to see works by the Old Masters and further develop as artists. The trip lasted some five years and they had to produce a large painting as a result of the trip. The money was called «the pension» and the artists, «the pensioners» of the Academy of Arts.)

Today our students, just like their predecessors, have the opportunity to copy outstanding works. At the Faculty of Painting, copying practice is a compulsory part of the curriculum for students after the third year. Copying is usually done in the Hermitage Museum or in the Russian Museum. Students have the opportunity to copy during the school year but it is very important that copying does not become mindless drawing. If the original painting is a portrait, it is recommended to imagine that this is a live model, and paint this piece step by step, as if it was a long academic task of painting from life. By solving the tasks of each stage, step by step, a student begins to understand how these tasks were solved by the original artist. By comparing the example and the copy, the student will have a chance to reach, in time, the level of the original. F. Bruni. The Triumph of Galatea. A copy from the original by Raphael

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STEP BY STEP PROCESS OF COPYING

I. The choice of materials

II. Charcoal drawing on canvas Underpainting in brown

III. The first layer in color

IV. Working on the details 1. The Head 2. The Hands 3. The Clothes, the background

V. Final step Unifying the painting, tonal hierarchy of the details

When we copy, we find proof that the great masters of the past created their works not randomly, but following a specific method.

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Rembrandt. “Portrait of an Old Man in Red” 1654, oil on canvas, 108 x 86. The Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg

I. THE CHOICE OF MATERIALS Before you start copying, it is useful to read some literature, explaining the materials used by Old Masters. These are books by D. Kiplik, A. Rybnikov, E. Berger and other authors. Rembrandt painted on smooth grey gesso. The texture of canvas was completely removed – that allowed the texture of paint show more prominently. Thinly painted shades and active dense light are typical for Rembrandt’s technique. The grey gesso performed two functions: it made the painting silver and it set the tone of the painting. The “lights” are rather dense in his works; there are no black voids, all spots are in the color spectrum. Rembrandt’s paintings in the Hermitage Museum have a golden-brown tint – this is the influence of the yellowed varnish. In overseas collections, where the old varnish has been replaced, his works look more silvery. Rembrandt used natural pigments for his paints. Blue was rarely used. Because this portrait has a large red area, we can use cobalt dark green for cold colors, the closest to the green used by Rembrandt. For the yellow let’s take light ochre and raw sienna, for the red – English red and madder lake red. The browns: mars dark brown, natural umber. We shall paint with oil mixed with pinene 1:1. If there is not enough time for drying you may add 1 ¼ part of dammar varnish, which will prevent the work from becoming dark but will slow down the drying process. Only a completely dry painting can be varnished; then the varnish will dry within 24 hours. If the paint is not completely dry, the varnish will remain sticky for a long time and collect dust.

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II. CHARCOAL DRAWING ON CANVAS Modern technology enables you to make a copy of a painting to the size of you require. From that you can transfer the drawing to your canvas. It is quick, precise, but soul-less. It is much better and more useful to treat the original as a wonderful model and draw as if you were looking at a real person. At first the drawing is prepared with drawing charcoal. We start with placing the silhouette of the figure

within the canvas. Indicate the head, hands, clothes and the rest. The sequence is the same as with painting a portrait with hands. When drawing with charcoal try using the minimum amount of material. The charcoal is fixed with a spray. Rembrandt often used charcoal in his work and many of his charcoal drawings on paper have survived (1).

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Underpainting in Brown With the brown underpainting Rembrandt solved two tasks: modeling the shape and giving warmth to the shades. In some of his works he did not use charcoal and drew directly with a brush, using brown paint (2). Similar underpaintings can be seen in works by Rubens (3), other artists and in the unfinished works by the graduates of our Academy (1). An underpainting can be created with a mix of paints or mars dark brown. To avoid the blackness, you may add some white paint into the mix. In Rembrandt’s time other paints were used, so we select the closest alternatives

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available today. Apply a thin layer of oil on canvas before starting work on the underpainting. The layer of oil should be very thin and even. After applying oil with a brush you may rub it with a cloth, or even better – with the palm of your hand. The paint on the palette is not diluted with oil, the oil should be on the surface of canvas. The paints should penetrate the oil environment. Perhaps this is the origin of the name “oil painting”. A downside of oil is that it yellows in the dark, even filtered ones; so it should be used in minimal quantities.

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III. THE FIRST LAYER IN COLOR Every time you start working on a canvas which already has dried up layers of paint, it is necessary to apply inter-layer coating. We use the triple mix we have prepared. Thus we solve two tasks: prevent the painting from getting dark and create an oil environment for the further layers of paint. Some students feel intimidated by the underpainting, they start tinting the drawing with color. This is wrong. The color

should be applied as if we were painting from life, trying to establish color relationships from the start. You should start from dark areas. If the grey tone of the ground does not match the halftones you may add some silver-green color mix to the halftones. Regardless of how much we try to reach the colors of the original, it will be a bit lighter and less saturated. That is how it should be, the original has translucent layers that give it depth and sound; they are the final layers of paint.

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I. The first layer



1. The Head After the first layers we start modeling the head. The process is the same as in the task “Head”. First define the eyes, then the nose, forehead and hair. Adjust the color just like when working from life. As the artist has created a certain active texture here, we define it simultaneously with the color. For convenience, we prepare color mixes on the palette. The

main information about the form is on the border of light and shade. First we define this area, then work on the light. One peculiarity of Rembrandt’s technique should be noted: he worked a lot in the etching technique (1). Some of the methods used in etching were also employed in his paintings. In the self-portrait you can see how, painting the silhouette of the hair, he depicted the hair with a simple scratching:

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he covered the area with some brown paint, then removed the excess paint and at the same time revealed the texture of the white collar (2). The artist often used thin, needle-like brushes on top of loose brushstrokes, which allowed him to create living, varying textures (3). We can see that in the beard, nose, forehead and hair.

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I. The first layer



2. The Hands Having applied inter-layer coating we adjust the color and the texture. Don’t forget the warm-cold relationships of colors. We start creating the form with defining the edges of the color spot. After adjusting the silhouette, define the shape within the spot of light. Here the sense of live form is achieved by using very thin

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brushes on top of wide thick brushstrokes (1, 2). Random traces of vibrations left by the bristle brush are alternated with deliberate various small brushstrokes (3). After the inter-layer coating is dry, apply the paint in thin semi-translucent layers whilst looking at the original widely;

adjust the color and the edges. Give the arms Rembrandt’s wholeness and softness. The paint is best applied with bristle brushes. Defining the edges is easier with kolinsky brushes. Paint hard edges with thin brushes, dipped in a thinner: soft edges with large dry brushes, constantly wiping them with a cloth.

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I. The first layer



3. The Clothes, the Background Determine the major and secondary details in clothes and in the background. Start work with the most important details. Adjust the color, define the character of the edges of the color spot. The background and the clothes may seem very dark in relation to the head and hands. This impression is created, because the original is lit at an angle, it is varnished and glazed. In summer, on a sunny day, you may see

even in the darkest area of the painting – a fur coat thrown over the shoulder and the knees – folds, texture and warm and cold tones. In this work the clothes and the background work very softly in relation to the head and hands. This softness is achieved by having applied a further semitransparent layer. In some, especially later, works by Rembrandt (1, 3) we see active textures. For example, in “The Return

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of the Prodigal Son” (2) it seems that the layer of paint is very thick. In reality this thickness is drawn. After painting the final semi-transparent layers, the artist let them dry and then rubbed with a cloth, wet in oil, thus revealing the texture. This way an impression of the trembling of real flesh was created. This is similar to revealing engravings on metal. This method was also borrowed from etching.

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V. FINAL STEP Unifying the painting, tonal hierarchy of the details It is advisable to start this step after the painting is dry enough. After applying inter-layer coating, adjust the color and the edges. Unify the details in some areas and accentuate the textures in others. Try to look at the original widely, as if we were painting from life. Otherwise it is impossible to avoid repetition (in tone and in color). A unifying semi-translucent layer is visible in the face of “Young woman

trying on an earring” (1). In the last layer we achieve a similarity in the sound of the red color. Try to follow the color relationships of the original as closely as possible. The painting can be varnished only after the paint is completely dry, otherwise the varnish will remain sticky until the paint dries. It is best to use dammar varnish, mixed with pinene 1:1. Apply two coats with a wide flat brush. 1

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fundamentals of drawing

Awarded Gold and Silver medals in 2012 of the St Petersburg Academy of Arts

Format: Hardcover, 72 pages Publisher: 4art Year: 2012 (2nd Edition, first published in 2007) Language: Russian E-book languages: English, Chinese, Finnish Dimensions (inches): 13.6 x 9.6 x 0.5 Shipping Weight: 2.3 lb ISBN-10: 5-904957-03-3 ISBN-13: 978-5-904957-03-2 Available on www.4-art.org

V. A. Mogilevtsev

FUNDAMENTALS OF DRAWING Any student artist faces two major objectives they must achieve during their training: to overcome fragmentary observation and to master the professional step-by-step the process of creating a drawing. The first goal can only be reached by constant practice: drawing and sketching a lot. Regular and systematic training is absolutely necessary. With time one develops an ability to observe, and perception becomes holistic. The success depends on the enthusiasm and discipline of the student. Academic training helps achieve the second goal. This textbook offers a certain approach to creating a painting based on a careful study of the Russian school of drawing as well as on the personal teaching and creative experience of Professor Mogilevtsev. This book is intended not only for reading but also for practicing. One can take a canvas of a given size and step by step perform the exercises demonstrated in this book, thus mastering painting without an instructor or a model.

From the Publisher The first and only publication over the past 40 years that received an official approval and recommendations by the Repin St Petersburg Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (the St Petersburg Academy of Arts). Laconic, well-illustrated textbook with tables, photographs of anatomical casts, charts, drawings by old masters, this manual explains the system of academic drawing and illustrates each stage of work. 20 years of teaching experience by professor Vladimir Mogilevtsev set forth in the light of traditions of classical Russian school, and on practical assignments, step by step, conveys the essence – the fundamentals of drawing – in a simple and understandable form. This makes it possible not only to understand and explore contemporary academic requirements to classical drawing, but also sets the right directions for self-study.

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In this book we have reviewed artistic means used in painting from life. There are as many artistic styles and painting methods as there are artists. During the training students pay attention to the superficial side of painting, try to emulate the manner of their favorite masters but often fail. A manner is only a way of applying paint. It is shaped by the personal preferences and taste of the author. The purpose of training is to master the main principles of painting. As a result of constant creative work a style will emerge anyway, and it will be not someone else’s style, but your own.

Bibliography • Brodsky, I. (1960) Repin – pedagog [Repin as a teacher]. Moscow

• Kiplik, D. (1929) Tekhnika zhivopisi [Technique of painting]. Leningrad

• Berger, E. (1935) Istoriya razvitiya tekhniki maslyanoy zhivopisi

• Kovalenskaya, T. M. (Ed.) (1960) Kramskoi ob iskusstve [Kramskoi about art]. Moscow

• [History of oil painting technique]. Moscow • Cennini, Cennino (1933). Il libro dell’arte [A treatise on painting. Russian translation]. Moscow • Guber, A., Grashchenkov, V. (Eds.) (1960-1967) Mastera iskusstva ob iskusstve [Masters of art about art] (Vols. 1-7).

• Repin, I. E. (1960) Ob iskusstve • [About art]. Moscow • Rybnikov, A. (1937) Tekhnika maslyanoy zhivopisi [Technique of oil painting]. Moscow • Viber, D. (1926) Zhivopis’ i eyo sredstva [Painting and its means]. Leningrad

About the Author Vladimir Aleksandrovich Mogilevtsev Graduated from the Repin St Petersburg Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (the St Petersburg Academy of Arts), the workshop of Professor Y. M. Neprintsev, RAA. From 1994 to 1997 continued his training at the workshop of Professor A. A. Mylnikov, vice-president of the Russian Academy of Arts. Instructor of drawing at the St Petersburg Academy of Arts since 1995. A member of the Russian Union of Artists since 1994. Honored professor and Head of the Drawing Department at the Academy since 2014. In 2012 awarded Gold and Silver Medals of the Russian Academy of Arts for his contribution as a teacher and as an author of the textbooks Fundamentals of Drawing and Academic Drawings and Sketches.

Copyright © 2012, 2014 4art Ltd. The material of this teaching aid is protected by International Copyright Legislation. All rights, including copyright, in the content of this teaching aid pages are owned or controlled for these purposes by the 4art Ltd. In accessing these pages, you agree that you may only download the content for your own personal non-commercial use. You are not permitted to copy, broadcast, download, upload, store (in any medium), transmit, show or play in public, adapt or change in any way the content of these pages for any other purpose whatsoever without the prior written permission of 4art Ltd. If you have this ﬁle (or a printout) and didn’t pay for it, you are depriving the author and publisher of their rightful royalties. Please pay for your copy by purchasing it at www.4-art.org.

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