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Reproducing an Old Master Portrait Painting

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"Portriat of a Man in a Red Cap" by Titian

Creating a reproduction of an old master painting can be a fun and educational experience for an artist. By working on a copy, you can become intimately familiar with the techniques used by classical artists and how to apply them to your own modern work and subjects. Reproductions can also be a lucrative endeavor, as many art lovers cannot afford a real Renaissance painting for their home, but will buy a well-made copy.

Here I have illustrated the steps used to create a copy of Titian's "Portrait of a Man in a Red Cap." The original painting is shown to the left. I was drawn to this painting because of the wonderful colors and textures at play: the fur coat, the bright red hat, the hilt of the sword. Using methods of underdrawing, underpainting, opaque color and glazing, I was able to create a reproduction of the painting to hang in my home - at least until I sold it for a very good price!

Why Should Artists Work on Reproductions?

If you'd like to learn more about how art reproduction is a valuable learning tool for artist, read my related page all about the subject.
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The underdrawing

The first step in reproducing the painting was creating a rough underdrawing. I used the grid method as a guide for accurately capturing the proportions, angles and placement of the figure on my prepared panel board. Soft, medium and hard charcoal were all used, along with a large bristle brush to help blend and spread the charcoal. While fine detail is not necessary in this stage, it is still important to try to be as accurate as possible. Every stage of a classical-style painting is a refinement of the last, so beginning with a solid underdrawing is critical.

Charcoal was used instead of graphite pencil, as graphite can bleed through the oil paint to be applied later.

Materials used in the underdrawing

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Umber wash

Umber washThe next step was to seal the underdrawing and prepare the surface of the panel board for paint. To do this, first I used a spray charcoal fixative. Then I prepared a solution of burnt umber paint in odorless turpentine. This very thin paint was applied over the surface of the panel to give it a brownish hue. This "wash" of thin paint helped make the surface easier to paint on, as well as create a unified, mid-value image which would be easier to apply other values onto in the next step.

Materials used in the umber wash

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First underpainting

The underpaintingFinally it was time to start painting! The monochrome underpainting for a classical portrait is called a "Verdaccio." This greenish-hued color may seem like an odd choice at first, but it makes the flesh tones to be applied later truly "pop" as well as create realistic shadows with only a thin application of color glazes. I prepared a full series of 10 verdaccio values, from pure black to white. The verdaccio was mixed from Mars Black, Flake White and Greenish Umber. If you do not want to use a lead-based paint such as Flake White, Titanium White can be used as well. For a painting medium I used a small amount of Liquin to help speed the drying process.

With the underpainting, details are refined from the charcoal drawing and more accurate values of dark to light are established. Once again it is important to work slowly and not rush through completing the underpainting, as after this step some areas of the painting may only receive transparent color glazes. It can be difficult to correct errors in the underpainting when beginning color, so work carefully. I recommend the use of bristle brushes at this stage of the process, to apply the paint thickly and get it to stick evenly to the panel.

Materials used in the underpainting

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Refined underpainting

Refining the underpaintingAs mentioned already, getting the underpainting as accurate as possible is very important. After first blocking in the major values over the charcoal drawing, I continued to refine and add more detail before proceeding to color. I made sure eye placement was accurate, that profiles and proportions were the closest I could match, and tried to leave nothing to be "corrected" later on. Even if you will entirely cover the underpainting with solid color later on, having a good guide on your panel or canvas to paint over is crucial.

To learn more about Verdaccio technique...

...read my tutorial on the history and application of underpainting.

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Initial color

First colorAfter all that hard work on the underdrawing and underpainting, it was time to start having some fun with color! I began by applying thin color "glazes" (paint mixed with a large amount of medium, again Liquin in this case) over the background, hair, coat and shadow areas. I also started blocking in bright opaque colors like Cadmium Red on the hat, Yellow Ochre on the shirt, and Titanium White mixed with umbers and siennas for the fur. This stage of the painting process is exciting as you begin to see how the verdaccio underpainting interacts with your color choices and the figure begins to come to life.

Paints used for the first color applications

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Flesh tones and refining color details

Flesh tones

Flesh tones were applied after the surrounding colors were established, to ensure accuracy. I prepared my flesh tone palette using Ivory Black, Burnt Umber, Raw Umber, Burnt Sienna, Raw Sienna, Venetian Red, Cadmium Orange and Titanium White. The secret to keeping the colors in this old master palette from turning gray is to not mix more than three of these colors together at once (for instance, white, orange and yellow ochre for a light section; umber, red and black in a dark). The flesh tones were thickly applied over fully-lit portions of the face and neck, and thinly over shadowed areas where the verdaccio should still come through. Using this method, the green of the verdaccio helped mimic how flesh can look cool and green/blue where blood vessels are close to the surface.

Additional detail was also added in color to the gloves, sword handle, coat and hat. At this stage I like using softer sable or synthetic brushes to get a smoother finish. A large fan brush was also useful in this painting for creating the texture of the fur, dragging dark and light colors back and forth in a rough manner.

Materials used in color stages of this painting

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Finished painting

Final paintingVoila! After addition of some refining details, the painting was complete. Even with the use of a drying agent such as Liquin, you should wait several months before varnishing an oil painting to ensure it has dried thoroughly. I used several coats of Damar Varnish to protect the panel surface and maintain the glossy, vibrant look of the oil paint. After framing, this painting sold reasonably quickly for a very fair price. It was also a fun experiment in exploring the painting style of a Venetian Renaissance master such as Titian.

Another Titian Reproduction Tutorial

I recently completed another Titian reproduction, this time of the beautiful "Venus Anadyomene". I used a slightly different approach, underpainting in pure gray instead of verdaccio. Check out the step-by-step images to see how this affected the appearance of the final work.
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To varnish your paintings...

Winsor & Newton Dammar Varnish for Oil Paintings 75ml Jar (2.5 oz)

Winsor & Newton Dammar Varnish for Oil Paintings 75ml Jar (2.5 oz)

Amazon Price: $5.93 (as of 02/22/2012)Buy Now
List Price: $8.75

Damar Varnish is great for applying a final protective, glossy coat to your oil paintings. Not only will it help create that authentic, classical art appearance but it will keep your painting safe from dirt, smoke, oil and other damaging substances.

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

More from the artist...

To see more of my artwork, as well as purchase originals and prints currently available, please visit my personal website and my Etsy storefront.

Classical oil painting books from Amazon

These books will help you learn more about the techniques and methods illustrated in this tutorial.
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Guestbook

Please let me know what you think of this step-by-step tutorial of copying an old master painting!

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  • Reply
    Tipi Feb 14, 2012 @ 4:28 pm | delete
    I am very impressed with this lens, and learned a lot. I would suggest using your keywords in the guestbook title as a question. Also, if you look at your lens in the Google cache page, you won't see the regular Amazon mods where we can have up to 5 items, and neither do search engines see them. The Amazon Spotlight or Voting plexo are better because they are seen. That will increase your lensranks and traffic to this very lovely and informative lens. - Will be featuring this on color your own masterpiece art coloring books. I like it!
  • Reply
    Ladymermaid Jan 16, 2012 @ 12:45 pm | delete
    You are an amazing artist no matter the theme you choose to work in. Absolutely delightful.
  • Reply
    masaad Dec 24, 2011 @ 1:30 pm | delete
    amazing information
  • Reply
    d-artist Jul 2, 2011 @ 9:18 am | delete
    Very impressive! great lens!
  • Reply
    LadyLovelace Apr 20, 2011 @ 11:39 am | delete
    This lens is brilliant, and it's helped me to correct a technical painting problem I've been having for a very long time. Why didn't *I* think of charcoal, eh? Thank you so very much for writing this lens :)
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sockii

I've loved painting and drawing since I was a young child who became fascinated by the works of modern artists such as Salvador Dali, Yves Tanguy, and... more »

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