Portrait of a Cardinal
By Barry Hammond
Oil on burlap
Image: 38 cm x 33 cm size
Canvas: 60 cm x 45 cm x 2 cm
Not for sale
Meaning and visual impact:
The painting is a nearly finished copy of the Portrait of a Cardinal by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael in 1510. I took an extensive course fifty years ago on the methods and techniques of the Renaissance and Old Masters artists. In this course, as a project, I had to duplicate all the materials and techniques they used 500 years prior. I completed the project up to the final point of applying the colours. Someday I will get around to finishing it. The original art work is displayed at the Prado in Madrid. I think I should notify the Prado that I have a backup in case the original ever gets stolen .
Technical aspects:
Only historic and original materials, tools and methods were used for this painting. The frame is wood but the “canvas” is burlap treated with white ground gesso to form a flat surface over the burlap. The image itself is directly copied from the original. The paints and brushes could not be purchased in an art store 500 years ago so, for example, I had to make my own artist brushes out of horsehair and sticks of wood. The oil paints were not from tubes but were self made from raw powdered pigments and mixed with linseed oil to create a paste like oil paint. On the white canvas the image was drawn out in detail and then the paint was applied. The first paint stage was entirely in monochrome, that is, one colour. That one colour is then mixed with white to create various shades of the monochrome. In my case I chose green as the monochrome. Then the various shades of green are used to paint the image in detail. Particular attention was paid by these artists to the interplay between shadow and light. I did not use any poetic license but rather used the original as the roadmap. After the monochrome painting is completed, then the colour is applied by a multiple series of thinly diluted oil paint. The old artists worked on large canvasses and painted the image in a section of the canvas and then when finished they just cut out the canvas and mounted it on a smaller custom frame chassis. I did the same and that is why the canvas size is listed as larger that the image. This final colouring process continues until the desired colour tones, depth and luminosity are achieved. I stopped at the end of the monochrome stage fifty years ago - so technically it is still a work in progress.