In the 2007 summer program of AMSU’s ARTH (Art for art historians and other interested parties), participants were given various 17th-century works of art to copy, among them Rembrandt’s portrait of the Dutch liberal preacher Johannes Uyttenbogaert (1577--1644). Uyttenbogaert  was 76 when he sat for Rembrandt, in April 1633. Wisely, the AMSU faculty limited our project to the head and shoulders of this dignified man, who played an important role in the history of The Netherlands. Since the original is on canvas, we too used this support. The painting is on view in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, but  for our course we had the luxury of having a full-scale high--resolution photograph to refer to. In addition, each participant was given a similar high--resolution photograph of the bust. Painting was carried out in two or two and a half  days. Lectures and demonstrations, as well as convivial lunches, punctuated our studio time, which began soon after nine in the morning and concluded by five in the afternoon. The photos are assembled in groups, corresponding to stages in our project.

Uyttenbogaert: high resolution photograph of the original, which was in our studio for reference. The original painting’s measurements are 132 x 102 cm. In my digital photograph, taken from a catalog, the painting is cropped, especially on the right and it has a bluish tint not present in the original.

The photographs are organized into three sets:

I, 1--6, The Canvas. After the edges of the cloth had a seam sewn around all four sides to hold a cord in place, a cord was sewn through the canvas at regular intervals and wrapped   around stretchers (aka  “strainers”) at a regular distance of several inches, say three. This cord was pulled tight to make it taut around the frame, i.e. the framing stretchers. Then the canvas was coated on one side with a ground to fill the interstices (spaces) between the canvas threads. Animal-skin glue, usually mixed with chalk, was applied first. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, this was covered with a kind of reddish-brown “sludge,” or paint that had been mixed with turpentine and linseed oil (poppy, etc), the “dirt” that had accumulated on the brushes’ hair or bristles. Once dry, another middle-tone ground was applied, that is, one that was intermediate between dark and light. In this case, it is middle grey. Fig. I, 4, shows the reddish ground covered, almost, by the grey ground. Fig. I, 5 shows the “cusping” or scalloping that occurs from the tension of the cord that holds the canvas in place. Fig. I, 6 is a photograph of the  back (reverse) of the canvas after the picture was completed.

II, 1-5, Preparatory Drawings. To prepare for the project, I made several drawings to introduce myself to the sitter and to observe him more closely. The drawings were done on light-brown toned paper, 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches. As is evident in the drawings, my proclivity for van Dyck’s portraiture is apparent. Uyttenbogaert was slimmed down, his face became more elongated, and he is more overtly expressive than the rather resigned almost  placid preacher in Rembrandt’s work. My drawing has transformed him more into a lord than a man of the church. The chalk drawings over photocopies suggest a family resemblance to Rembrandt; here Uyttenbogaert’s features are rather plebeian. Some of my visual inclinations are apparent in the painting itself. First, I did not center the sitter, as we were urged to do, but moved him to the left, in keeping with van Dyck’s sense of design. Second, being a great admirer of Frans Hals, some of my brush work, particularly in the painting of the ruff, is informed by the Haarlem master’s touch. (But of course I am only in Hals’s introductory course and have many classes to take before I approach his masterful succinctness.) I fell in love with the lovely lushness of lead white, a pigment that was used with abandon decades ago when I first was trying my hand at painting, but because of its toxicity this pigment is no longer commercially available. Thanks to this course, I was able to enjoy its properties which are so alluring, as is evident in my depiction of the ruff. So a faithful copy after Rembrandt this picture certainly is not.

III, 1--29, Painting Stages. This sequence shows the various stages of the portrait. Ernst van de Wetering with humor and wisdom gave me the assistance I needed to progress, showing me how to mix appropriate skin color as well as to correct tonal disposition in certain facial areas. Because the time allowed for painting was so limited, it was not possible to fashion the facial structure, tones, colors, and to learn Rembrandt’s facture  a lengthier period would have permitted. Where glazes might have toned down the ruddy Uyttenbogaert and given him a paler complexion, the man I brought home in my cardboard box is a reminder to me of the masterfulness of Rembrandt and his contemporaries. Not Rembrandt, not by a long shot. Still, I hope that the curious will take heart and find instruction from these comments, and, if possible, study with the masters at AMSU.

Among the lessons learned from using  hand-mixed paints was the different properties they had insofar as intensity, opacity/transparency, and handling. Using linseed oil alone as a medium --no turpentine or resins-- made the act of painting  a new experience; it requires considerable time to master as well as the “systems” used in the seventeenth century.

(revised, 27 February, 2008)