Painting a Portrait

A favourite resource on portraiture is Philip de László's Painting a Portrait. Published in 1934 it is written in the form of a conversation between A. L. Baldry and de László. The book is fairly widely stocked by second hand book sellers, and is also available online and is well worth a read.  It provides an outline of de László's technique, including his palette, procedure for creating preliminary sketches, the value of standing back from the canvas and the use of the mirror. The second half of the book consists of analysis of various great portraits by Holbein, Titian, Hals, Velasquez, Van Dyck, Rembrandt and others. 

De László himself was born in Budapest but settled in London in 1907. Having trained at the Académie Julian, he became known for his portraits of royal and aristocratic people including Edward VII. I love the elegant and fluid manner of his painting.

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