The Laughing Cavalier

by Peggy
(Coos Bay Oregon)

I show the painting as it is at this point it is the largest and the most detailed work I have ever tried....

Picture the upper close up and the lower close up and also one with me standing beside it to give an idea of its size.
First I found several pictures of the original painting done in 1624, though it is the same picture some of them are a little bit different, the painting style back then was way before its time.... and Frans Hals was one of the very best .....the model is un-named but was 26 years old at the time of the painting he is neither smiling nor a cavalier..... the name for the painting was created in the 1800's. the painting was 33x26 in size/

My painting is 30x40 the biggest painting I have ever tried. and the most detail work involved.... a big challenge for this old granny...lol

I started by making the drawing on the hard board, then painter the line drawing with raw scienna acrylic with very fine tiny line, let it dry. then with a small brush # 2 and # 4 soft sable flat brush painted in all the dark areas with raw umber, carefully painting AROUND every drawn line.....

painted very light gray thinly, dry brush where the white areas will be.

then painted the back ground still with the small brushes matching the colors from what I see in the picture... mostly raw umber, naples yellow, and raw scienna well mixed with white. Painted thin, this is still all the under coat, Painted the flesh, the orange colors and again went over the dark blackish areas with another coat of paint , this time ivory black painted thinly. did the hat , the under colors for the hair and the flesh. This IS THE FIRST STEP FINISHED.....

Now I let it dry and then start the more detail work in the second step.


Editors Note:
I am really looking forward to the completed work. When you post it, I will include it as an attachment to this post so our readers will get the whole picture!

Finished Laughing Cavalier

by peggy
(Coos Bay Oregon)

finally finished. this was a difficult painting to do. a great deal of tiny detail, and often looking at the reference picture with a magnifying glass to see the actual details.

had to do the sleeve three times to get it the way I want it. under the glass realized that the upper part of the sleeve was a FLAP, covering the sleeve, with the parts showing that area all being black took some time to get it right, also it has been raining every day here for three months so the air is very moist makes slower drying time. finished three other paintings while working on this one.

30 by 40 is s large painting and takes some standing and backing off repeatedly.

looking at several reference pictures of the cavalier there were differences and searching for more written material learned a lot about Frans Hal's painting style during his time... this painting was originally named "Painting of a man" not giving a name or a date , only that the model was 26 years old and the painting was done in 1624. the artist was very popular and did many works many of them called painting of a man... woman...child.....etc.

to get the final sleeve detail I had to use VERY SMALL brushes, the detail was hand embroidered with gold thread
and many of the symbols were about love and purity, suggesting that the model was possibly having the painting done as a wedding present or such...the model was NOT LAUGHING NOR WAS HE A CAVALIER...

the painting was copied sometime in the early 1800's and renamed the laughing cavalier, I could not find the artist who did that...

If you are up a real challenge that is also a real learning experience and fun, please try to do this painting...

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