Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Copying a Master II - Infanta Margarita

This is my second attempt to copy a Velázquez.  This time I am attempting the Infanta Margarita portrait from his masterpiece Las Meninas.  I have found along the way that I have quite a few problems to solve, especially as I progress.  I honestly can't be sure how Velázquez went about painting this.  I can only guess that I'm handling it differently, and somewhat impatiently.  The difficult part about copying his style is that he was so quick and spontaneous with his brushwork, and when trying to mimic his technique, I can't help but try too hard.  So we shall see where this goes.  It is a total trial-and-error project.  But I get the feeling that Velázquez may have been somewhat of a trial-and-error painter himself.

Diego Velázquez
Detail of Las Meninas
oil on canvas
1656


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