How to Paint Like the Old Masters

Learning to paint like the Old Masters is a skill, just like any skill. It takes time and effort to learn, but it can be learned by anyone with the dedication and drive to practice. This article will cover the basics of the methods used by the Old Masters and introduce you to a few resources to learn more.

The first step in the process is the drawing. The final outcome of any painting comes down to the quality of the initial drawing, so it is a good idea to hone your drawing skills as much as possible before you start painting. The drawing should be a complete monochrome rendering of the subject and should look like a finished black and white drawing.

Old Masters generally used charcoal on prepared panels or completed a drawing and then transferred it to the canvas before painting. Ink was generally used to make the drawing permanent as the charcoal would be disturbed when paint was applied.

After the drawing is complete, the next step is the underpainting. There were different types of underpaintings used throughout history. A verdaccio underpainting is a grey-green underpainting that produces especially vibrant flesh tones in later stages of the painting.

Azuraccio is a blue-grey underpainting that was primarily used for landscape paintings. Other types of underpaintings include grisaille, a black and white toned underpainting and underpaintings made from burnt umber.

The underpainting should be a complete value rendering of the subject. The purpose is to set the values correctly in this stage so that subsequent stages of the painting can be focused exclusively on color.

All drawing issues should be resolved by the end of this stage as they will be very difficult to correct in later stages.

Once the underpainting is completed, it is time to begin working with color. Using glazes of paint mixed with medium, the background is glazed to the correct hue. Several layers of glazes may be required to attain the correct color.

After the background is completed, non-flesh tones are glazed using the same method.

The fleshtones are painted directly, with a carefully mixed palette. As with the rest of the painting, the lights should be applied thickly while the darks should be scrubbed in. This will help the illusion of the lighter areas of the painting coming forward, while the darker areas will appear to recede.

Depending on the type of underpainting, areas of the flesh tones will be rubbed off to reveal portions of the underpainting beneath. This will aid in the turning of the form and in obtaining true colors of flesh.

This article is obviously just a high-level overview of the stages of Classical painting.The important thing to remember is that anyone can learn to draw and paint.

If you are interested in learning more, I highly recommend you take a class to learn how to paint like the Old Masters.