Art Education

Master Portrait Copy

Medium: Pencil

Draw a copy of a portrait done by any great master prior to 1900.   You may zoom into the face of the person in the portrait.

Some of the masters may include, but not be limited to, Rembrandt, Velazquez, Van Dyke, or Ingres. Look in Art History books or online and find a portrait with which you "connect". If you are excited about the portrait you are copying, it will come through in your drawing. Zoom in on your subject and focus on the facial details. You do not need to recreate the entire artwork but it should include at least a shaded background. Please do this from observation rather than tracing major lines of the portrait.