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Part III · Craft, genres and media · Chapter 29 of 31

The portrait

A portrait has to capture a likeness, a character and a moment. The great portraitists — Holbein, Rembrandt, Velázquez, Ingres — did it with careful drawing, simple lighting and a few telling details.

Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci◎ notes
Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci (c. 1503–1519). Oil on poplar panel. Musée du Louvre, Paris. Source: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein the Younger◎ notes
The Ambassadors, Hans Holbein the Younger (1533). Oil on oak panel. The National Gallery, London. Source: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer◎ notes
Girl with a Pearl Earring, Johannes Vermeer (c. 1665). Oil on canvas. Mauritshuis, The Hague. Source: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Getting the likeness

Likeness lives in the big proportions: the shape of the skull, the spacing of the features and the angle of the head. Measure these first and check them often. Details such as eyelashes add almost nothing to a likeness.

Light the sitter from one side and slightly above (as Rembrandt did) so the planes of the face read clearly. A small triangle of light on the shadow cheek is called Rembrandt lighting.

Character

Pose, costume, setting and attributes tell a story — the instruments in Holbein's Ambassadors, the bandage in van Gogh's self-portrait. Decide what you want to say about the sitter before you begin.

Try it

  1. Block the head as a ball and plane, then place the features.
  2. Mass the shadow shape as one value.
  3. Paint the skin in three values: light, halftone, shadow.
  4. Finish the eyes and mouth last, keeping edges soft.

Examples to study

Self-Portrait at 28 by Albrecht Dürer
Self-Portrait at 28, Albrecht Dürer (1500). Oil on lime panel. Alte Pinakothek, Munich. Source: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1 by James McNeill Whistler
Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1, James McNeill Whistler (1871). Oil on canvas. Musée d'Orsay, Paris. Source: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear by Vincent van Gogh
Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, Vincent van Gogh (1889). Oil on canvas. The Courtauld, London. Source: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Madame Guillaume Guillon Lethière, née Marie-Joseph-Honorée Vanzenne, and her son Lucien Lethière by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
Madame Guillaume Guillon Lethière, née Marie-Joseph-Honorée Vanzenne, and her son Lucien Lethière, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1808). Graphite. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art · CC0 (Met Open Access)
Portrait of John Poyntz by Hans Holbein the Younger
Portrait of John Poyntz, Hans Holbein the Younger (early 16th century). Black and red chalk (use of stumping), brush and brown wash and black ink. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art · CC0 (Met Open Access)
Portrait of a young woman seated by Thomas Gainsborough
Portrait of a young woman seated, Thomas Gainsborough (ca. 1760). Black chalk with touches of red wash. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art · CC0 (Met Open Access)
Self-Portrait by Goya
Self-Portrait, Goya (ca. 1796). Brush and point of brush, carbon black ink. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art · CC0 (Met Open Access)

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