Art 230: Introduction to Painting
Master Still Life Copy Assignment

Due Date Wednesday, September 18th or Thursday September 19th

Well, we've started color and we have our color wheel, but now it's time to learn some of the ins and outs of still life painting. You might ask, "How are we going to do that?" The answer is simple: Let's learn from the best. The tradition of copying great works of art has been in existence for a long time. Michelangelo was said to have copied the drawings his master owned and then fell in love with those drawings so much that he replaced them with his own copies that he made to look old. The French painters went to the Louvre on a constant basis to copy masterpieces. While a student of Moreau, Mastisse was sent to the Louvre quite often and is known to have copied at least 17 paintings. Ingres was copying Giotto at the age of 79. The point is that if you apply yourself, there is more knowledge to get out of these paintings than from any teacher. I'll give you Monday, Tuesday to work on these in class, if you can work on these over the week-end so Monday and Tuesday will be used for small adjustments.

If you ever get the chance, go to a museum and ask if you can copy a painting. You'll be surprised at how much you can learn. If this isn't an option, we'll have to settle for the next best thing. First, go to the library and get yourself a book. For the surfers out there the Web is an option, but the print resolution should be as good as the reproductions in books. If you have the guts try painting at the Cincinnati Art Museum. If you try the museum you need to fill out some paper work and you'll have to bring a drop cloth to protect the floor. Remember that if you copy from the museum we also need to see a reproduction for the critique.

You must pick a still life of medium complexity. The painting you choose to copy should feel volumetric. Here are your choices of artists to copy from: Early Monet, Early Matisse, Cezanne, Renoir, Caillebotte, Manet, Louisa Matthihauter, Early Van Gogh, Wayne Thiebaud, Frank Duveneck, Richard Diebenkorn, Morandi, or you may pick someone else as long as I approve it first.

Copy the whole composition by drawing the image to scale as I demonstrated in class. The size is whatever working size that feels comfortable for you. You must draw from the image--no photocopying or tracing. It's important that you pay attention to how the artist uses negative space and the direction of the brush strokes. Mimic everything, and hopefully either consciously or not, you'll learn how the painting was made. Pay close attention to how forms are built, as well as what's happening in the empty spaces. Remember that color is relative. Certain colors when placed next to each other may change how we perceive those colors.

You'll be graded on how closely your copy resembles the original. One or two small color errors or drawing errors is an A. Three or four a B, and so on and so forth. Try to hit the colors right, but remember that the value is the most important aspect of making that form or space feel right. I'll give you a little leeway on the color, but not much. Concentrate on getting the value right.

It's also important to bring the reproduction to class for the critique so that we can compare the copy to the reproduction. Each member of the class will examine your reproduction to see if it's an original. Can you stump the class? If you can it's a good bet that you'll get an A on this project, and millions of dollars for selling your forgery to a museum. Good luck and have fun!

Return to Art 230 Assignments

Kevin J. Muente
Assistant Professor of Art
Northern Kentucky University