How Can I Paint the Mona Lisa in an Hour?
The painting of the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci is the most famous portrait in the world, partly due to the subtle and hard‑to‑define shadows around the face known as sfumato. Sfumato is one of the painting modes of Renaissance art and is difficult to achieve. I decided to paint the Mona Lisa and post it on YouTube as speed art. Here are the common pitfalls of painting a face with a subtle expression.
Tips on Painting the Portrait of the Mona Lisa
See my two YouTube clips on painting the Mona Lisa. The first glaze (above) was completed in around twenty‑five minutes. Once the first glaze was touch‑dry, I began the second glaze (below), which took a further half‑hour. The second process enabled me to elaborate on shadows and refine shading. Both processes have been speeded up so viewing time is compacted to a few minutes.
The most common problems with painting a portrait with delicate detail such as the Mona Lisa are the following:
1. Expressing shadows on the face as just that: shadows. This might cause the artist to reach for black or very dark brown and treat them as separate entities. This can result in dirty‑looking patches around the forehead, nose and chin.
2. Making assumptions about the face without actually looking at the visual resource. The Mona Lisa does not have visible eyebrows. There are also no definable lines around the eyes or nose. Only a subtle line can be seen on the seam of the lips. Adding lines where none exist will ruin the sfumato effects.
3. Not noticing slight differences in tones on the face. One tone might be slightly lighter, darker, warmer or cooler than another. Omitting these differences results in a flat face with disembodied features. The Mona Lisa contains a soupçon of shadows around the brow, cheekbones and chin. Standing back from the painting will make these shadows more apparent.
4. Using poor art materials. Top‑quality fine sables are essential for expressing fine detail around the eyes and mouth. Fine sables hold less paint than wide brushes, ideal for sketching delicate shadows. A wide brush offers insufficient control for subtle areas.
How to Paint Sfumato
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| Painting the Mona Lisa (Rachel Shirley) |
The most difficult part of the painting is the shadow areas around the face. Edges are implied rather than stated, meaning there are few outlines anywhere on the portrait except perhaps around the hairline. Da Vinci expressed shadows around the forehead, eyes and nose. From afar, these subtle areas combine to portray a face that appears neither to smile nor frown, but look knowingly at the viewer. The slightest misplacement of shadow or highlight will give the face an entirely different expression.
Sfumato Oil Painting Technique
I began by sketching the portrait lightly in pencil before overlaying the drawing with acrylic paint. I then applied two translucent coats of burnt umber acrylic paint, making highlight areas easy to see.
I used a limited palette of burnt umber, cadmium yellow, burnt sienna, pthalo blue and white. I mixed cadmium yellow and burnt sienna into mostly white for highlights, and with a separate sable brush mixed cool highlights and darks consisting of burnt umber and white.
Problems with Painting the Mona Lisa
The trickiest part was expressing the shadows around the face, such as the hollows around the eyes, the angle of the nose and the slight dimples around the mouth. Once these areas were completed, I could relax more when sketching the landscape around the figure, which comprised mostly pthalo blue, burnt umber and white.
Painting Tips for the Mona Lisa
Painting the Mona Lisa is undoubtedly a challenge. The key is high visual awareness of shadows around the face, regardless of how subtle. Sfumato implies outlines without actually showing them. In the Mona Lisa, there is no clear boundary between hair and cheekbones. Resist the temptation to express lines where none exist.
My New Ebook on Painting the Mona Lisa
I have released a more in‑depth guide on how to paint this masterpiece and attain sfumato effects. It is included in my book Skin Tones in Oil Color: 10 Step by Step Guides from Old Masters. This demo turned out so lengthy that I created a mini ebook on the project. Both books are available from Amazon.
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