Steps in the Production of a Painting Video
I just started playing around with some new video software and have put together some videos on the painting process, mostly aimed at helping my students.
Here is one on the steps in the production of a painting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbCqobeTlI0
Here is “Big Form Modelling a Bouguereau”.
The Method of Caravaggio – Part 3 – The Overpainting
As we have seen, Caravaggio developed a system of painting that allowed him to be extremely efficient in the period before his death.
Below is a video of the workshop demo on the application of the overpainting:
The wash drawing is executed to a high degree of finish. The flesh is under painted with white and drapery is painted directly. Then, when dry, the overpainting of the flesh is started.
Caravaggio’s basic palette included lead white, red
and yellow ocher, lead-tin yellow, vermilion (cinnbar),
malachite, carbon black and earth colors, plus madder
lake and copper resinate glazes.
and yellow ocher, lead-tin yellow, vermilion (cinnbar),
malachite, carbon black and earth colors, plus madder
lake and copper resinate glazes.
I use a variation of a palette invented by John Angel and used at the Angel Academy. I have tried many different palettes and this one is perfect for copying Caravaggio.
From left to right: Lead white, Zecchi roman ochre, Zecchi vermillion, Old Holland persian red, Old Holland red umber, Michael Harding burnt umber, Michael Harding raw umber, Old Holland green umber and ivory black.
The painting is then finished piecemeal. The colours are painted thin but opaque and then blended to a finish.
Copy by workshop student Jacqui Butterworth.
Below is a video of the workshop demo on the application of the overpainting:
For more info on the Methods of Caravaggio workshop : http://www.angelartschool.com/workshop7_2016.html
The Method of Caravaggio – Step Two – Underpainting the Lights
When studying late Caravaggio paintings, one gets an idea of his working method in this period.
He is working very efficiently, leaving the mid-tone ground to act as shadows and thinner application of umber to describe darker tones while the lights are painted with few colours.
In the Martrydom of St. Ursula, notice the flesh in the figure of St. Ursula, on the right. It is painted with an opaque white which is pulled thinner as the form moves away from the light. This gives us an idea of his underpainting process.
Continuing on from the last blog entry, once the wash drawing has dried, the lights are rendered using a white. Caravaggio would have used a lead white but titanium works as well. If using titanium, add in a little bit of calcium carbonate to give the paint some body, opacity and to help it dry a little faster. Where the flesh is lightest, the paint is applied thickly. As the flesh darkens the paint is pulled thinner, resulting in the illusion of the three dimensional form.
Here is an explanation of the process, filmed during the workshop at Angel Academy.
Once this has dried the flesh is painted using a limited palette. The next blog entry will describe this process.
The Method of Caravaggio – Step One
Michelangelo Merisi of Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio, was the great painter of the counter reformation. A contemporary of Galileo and Shakespeare, he was the first artist in history whose paintings are directly concerned with his life.
In his later years Caravaggio developed a process which allowed him to work very efficiently – important as he was on the run for much of his last years.
I teach this method at the Angel Academy in Florence, Italy. For more info:
I will share what I have discovered about his process over the next few blog posts.
The begin, the canvas is to be toned with a warm brown, mid-tone in value.
The drawing is then rendered with umbers. The paint should be applied thinly, varying opacity where needed. The goal is to use 2 or 3 values to describe the image:
When studying “the Martyrdom of St. Ursula”, one can get an idea of the next step:
This step, the underpainting with white, will be described in the next post.
The Two Michelangelos: Postscript – Another Contarelli Chapel Commission
Caravaggio was contracted for two side paintings in the Contarelli chapel, those we have looked at in the last three posts. The project was finished and installed in 8 months. For the front wall of the chapel, the Flemish sculptor Jacob Cobaert was commissioned to complete a “St. Matthew and the Angel” which was rejected for unknown reasons a short while after being installed. The sculpture ended up in Santissima Trinita dei Pellegrini in Rome.
The church turned once again to Caravaggio, asking him to complete a painting for the space. Caravaggio produced this work:
The church rejected this painting as well and if we take a closer look it is easy to understand why. The angel is guiding St. Matthew’s hand which, combined with the look on his face, makes him look rather like a simpleton. In addition, the position of the Saint’s dirty left foot puts it precariously close to the eucharist when it is raised during the liturgy. The painting eventually ended up in the Kaiser-Friedrich Museum in Berlin and was destroyed by American bombing in World War II.
Caravaggio, being the consummate professional that he was, painted a second version that remains in the chapel to this day:
For amazing hi-res images of the paintings in the Chapel visit: Contarelli Chapel hi-res pics.
And an interesting documentary on how they produced the above images: Caravaggio, creating three facsimiles.
The Two Michelangelos Part 2
This is the “Martyrdom of St. Matthew” from the Contarelli Chapel in San Luigi Francesi in Rome.
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Caravaggio’s version of the martyrdom was inspired by the Golden
Legend . Matthew was murdered while celebrating mass in the Ethiopian city of Nadaber. He had refused to marry the King Hirtacua to Ephigenia, a consecrated virgin. Upset at this, the King sent an assassin to kill the saint.
Legend . Matthew was murdered while celebrating mass in the Ethiopian city of Nadaber. He had refused to marry the King Hirtacua to Ephigenia, a consecrated virgin. Upset at this, the King sent an assassin to kill the saint.
The white vestments of Matthew set against the dark background bring our attention to the center of the painting, as the assassin stands over the saint, about to
kill him. At left we see a group of young men (including Carvaggio’s self portrait at the back) dressed in contemporary
17th C clothing (as in the “Calling”). This group could be the faithful who, upon witnessing the
murder, ran to light fire to the kings palace. On the right is the altar
boy running away from the scene while just behind him is the altar. The bottom group is somewhat confusing as it seems the figures are
distorted and/or limbless. Could this refer to the cripples that St. Matthew was
known for healing? The strange space they are in may be a reference to the Pool of Bethedusa – a healing
pool in Jerusalem mentioned in St. John’s Gospel.
kill him. At left we see a group of young men (including Carvaggio’s self portrait at the back) dressed in contemporary
17th C clothing (as in the “Calling”). This group could be the faithful who, upon witnessing the
murder, ran to light fire to the kings palace. On the right is the altar
boy running away from the scene while just behind him is the altar. The bottom group is somewhat confusing as it seems the figures are
distorted and/or limbless. Could this refer to the cripples that St. Matthew was
known for healing? The strange space they are in may be a reference to the Pool of Bethedusa – a healing
pool in Jerusalem mentioned in St. John’s Gospel.
It is the grouping of St Matthew and the assassin that is most interesting. Once again Caravaggio references Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam, using the body of
Adam in the place of the assassin. Below I have photoshopped Adam next to the assassin to demonstrate the similarity:
This assassin is Adam up right, on his feet. Adam who has become
sinner and been exiled from Paradise. The assassin/Adam grabs the hand of Matthew,
trying to block contact with the palm of martyrdom being offered to him by the
angel above. Adam here is an image of arrogance in contrast to the redemptive power offered to Matthew. It is sin that prevents us from receiving the grace of God. In this grouping Caravaggio represents the complex rapport between human and divine.
sinner and been exiled from Paradise. The assassin/Adam grabs the hand of Matthew,
trying to block contact with the palm of martyrdom being offered to him by the
angel above. Adam here is an image of arrogance in contrast to the redemptive power offered to Matthew. It is sin that prevents us from receiving the grace of God. In this grouping Caravaggio represents the complex rapport between human and divine.
With “The Calling of St. Matthew”, the hand of Adam became the
hand of Christ that calls Matthew. In “The Martyrdom”, the body of Adam just created becomes the arrogant body of the assassin of St. Matthew. The angel above Matthew is one of the angles from the flight of the angels within God the
Divine Creator.
In the next post we will see how Caravaggio continues to reference the Sistine Chapel in his painting of “Supper at Emmaus”
The Two Michelangelos Part 1
Michelangelo
Buonarotti and Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio that is.
Buonarotti and Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio that is.
Caravaggio, like
any master, understood art history and was able to play with the language
of art to make complex theological statements. A continual source for him was
Michelangelo and we find Caravaggio quoting the great master in many of his
paintings.
any master, understood art history and was able to play with the language
of art to make complex theological statements. A continual source for him was
Michelangelo and we find Caravaggio quoting the great master in many of his
paintings.
In the Contarelli
Chapel (1599 – 1600) in San Luigi Francesi in Rome, Caravaggio was granted his
first major commission. On
his death in 1585 the French cardinal, Matthieu Cointerel (Contarelli in
Italian) had left a large sum of money and instructions for a chapel to be
dedicated to his patron saint, St. Matthew. Caravaggio completed the commissions on canvas, something unheard of for large murals at that
time which were usually executed in fresco. Three large painting were finished in 8 months.
Chapel (1599 – 1600) in San Luigi Francesi in Rome, Caravaggio was granted his
first major commission. On
his death in 1585 the French cardinal, Matthieu Cointerel (Contarelli in
Italian) had left a large sum of money and instructions for a chapel to be
dedicated to his patron saint, St. Matthew. Caravaggio completed the commissions on canvas, something unheard of for large murals at that
time which were usually executed in fresco. Three large painting were finished in 8 months.
In the first painting, “The Calling Of St Matthew”, we see Christ calling Matthew, aka Levi, as described in Matthew 9.9: “And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, follow me. And he arose, and followed him.”
Caravaggio gives Christ the hand of Adam from the Sistine Chapel’s “Creation of Man”, signalling the similarity between God and man and the human nature of Christ: Christ is the new Adam. Notice also how Peter, the first pope, echoes the gesture, describing how the Church continues the work of Christ.
Matthew and his colleagues are dressed in clothing contemporary to Caravaggio, from the early 17th C, while Christ and Peter are dressed in what would be early 1st
C wear. This emphasizes that Christ’s call is eternal, for all people
of all ages.
C wear. This emphasizes that Christ’s call is eternal, for all people
of all ages.
Caravaggio was the perfect counter-reformation painter. A complicated individual but entirely professional and profound in his work. In the next post we
will look at the complex and interesting theology presented by
Caravaggio in a second painting in the chapel, “The Martyrdom of St. Matthew”.
will look at the complex and interesting theology presented by
Caravaggio in a second painting in the chapel, “The Martyrdom of St. Matthew”.