Customer Reviews

How to Paint Like the Old Masters

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I first saw this book at my local bookstore a few years ago. The paintings presented in this book consolidated my love of classic fine arts (AKA the Old Masters' works). At the time, I did not have enough facilities to pursue oil painting, I simply admired beautiful works by Mr. Sheppard and put the book back to the shelf. Briefly, my conclusion of his work at the time was "unreachable".

I recently bought a copy of this book for myself and in fact have painted, as a practice, some paintings, using the techniques of Titian (both portraiture and nude) described in the book. I fall in love with the techniques of this Old Master simply because the choice of colors and every steps were done in oil (personally, I don't like to use charcoal or other materials in underpainting; they tend to smear and cause a mess). The following are my humble opinions about this book, based on my own experience using it:

1) Don't kid yourself, this is a profound book. Objectively speaking, with only 143+ pages, the author covers the following topics: - Materials and Formulas - Techniques of Durer, Titian, Veronese, Caravaggio, Rubens, Hals, Rembrandt, and Vermeer

Due to space limit, expect some details that may need more in-depth discussions. However, the book does include a reference citation for further reading.

2) This book does not make you a "Master", but it helps to "try out" these techniques. In my humble opinion, to fully benefit this book, the reader should have the following skills before trying the techniques described in the book:

- Good craftmanship. Don't expect to create a masterpiece without a decent drawing skill to start with. Be honest with yourself, if you think you have a problem looking at an object (either live or from a photo) and render it on a canvas, you are not ready for this book yet.

- A reasonably decent ability in recognition of shade, light, and halftone; and a considerable knowledge of color mixing in oil. If you have never mixed oil colors, the book does provide, to some extent, what colors to use. However, in reality, variations occurred, due to different brands of colors or medium used. In any event, you might be able to get by.

3) Practice makes perfect. Do a few paintings using the techniques of your choice. You will eventually find out that no matter how strictly do you follow the techniques described in the book, YOUR WAY of painting will end up different. This is exactly what makes every artist unique. As long as your final work is good, it is a masterpiece of its own right. Who cares whether you tried to be a Titian or Rembrandt and failed. After all, that is even not a good idea, in my opinion.

In closing, I am happy to have purchased this book and tried out some paintings for myself. It surely is a great reference every time I plan to do a portraiture in the Old Master's way (but then again, when the painting is done, it becomes "my" way).

In a few words, "Strongly recommended".

Mr. Sheppard has turned his considerable talent and experience to recreating the materials and techniques that may have been used by the Old Masters of oil painting--Rubens, Rembrandt, Caravaggio, and Titian , to name a few. Rather than apply thick paint on the canvas, the Masters developed their works slowly, over a period of weeks or months, applying layer upon layer of translucent glazes to a gray or brown underpaining. The result is color that is more luminous and vibrant than paint straight from the tube. Mr. Sheppard also provides directions for recreating the Masters' painting medium, a mixture of oil and varnish with the consistency of jelly. I myself did not have the patience (nor, given the obvious health risks in using the powdered lead and high temperatures the recipe requires, the inclination) to create this medium at home, but I am told it is available commercially. Mr. Sheppard is also thoughtful enough to provide recipes for substitute mediums, for those of us of a less adventurous spirit. As for the techniques themselves, there is no denying the author's pure talent, and his prose is bot engaging and informative, but make no mistake: this is not a book intended for the beginner. The reader can see the progression of each painting in a series of illustrations, but several crucial steps are completed in the space of a paragraph, and only a practiced eye can see precisely how the author has completed each step. I was also disappointed that Sheppard has chosen to create one or, at most, two paintings in the style of each Master. His Titian nude, for example, fairly glows on the page, and his sole Rembrandt recreation, that of an old man, rivals and perhaps exceeds many of Rembrandt's own paintings. I would relish the opportunity to see him create more. Still, in exploring the possibilities of the Old Masters (no records of their actual materials or techniques truly exist, so Sheppard has made at best an exceptionally educated guess), I realized the possibilities that can be achieved in my own painting, with patience, practice, and diligence. At the very least, check the book out of the library, get a fresh canvas, and explore the possibilities yourself. You will take something with you.

I bought this book two years ago when I was studying for my B.F.A. in Studio Art with a concentration in painting. Fascinated with the Old Masters, as well as Odd Nerdrum's contemporary work that echoes the likes of Caravaggio and Rembrandt, I sought information beyond what my Professors could offer on the Master's techniques. I was disappointed to find that Sheppard's book was, literally, the only one I found that even addressed painting in a classical manner. While Sheppard doesn't come close to answering the mysteries of the Masters, he demonstrates his virtuosity with paint in every example. His instructions, while NOT for the beginning painter, are not difficult for the careful student to follow. I found the advice practical and useful. I recommend this book to any painter with ambitions to develop richly colored paintings in the manner of the Masters. The Old Masters are best studied in museums in person. I also suggest a great book like Ernst Van de Wetering's "Rembrandt: The Painter at Work", which includes stunning close-ups to study.

The first thing that struck me as I browsed the book is the woeful quality of many of the images, with some being out of focus. This problem is also apparent in the other two books by Watson Guptill that I think compliment this one well. Kreutz "Problem Solving for Beginners" and Cateura "Oil Painting Secrets from a Master". If you are looking to paint in a realistic style in the vein of Caravaggio, Rembrandt etc. then you will find plenty of information in these three books.

However all three deal with technique and for me the ability to discern the brushstrokes is a critical part of the learning exercise i.e. is the artist using impasto or thinned paint? With these images it's impossible to tell. Hopefully WG will revisit each of these books and bring the images up to scratch.

Joseph Sheppard provides "how to's" allowing the reader to emulate the techniques of: Durer, Titian, Veronese, Caravaggio, Rubens, Hals, Rembrandt and Vermeer. Information on how to create specific paint mediums used by that particular artist, mixing paints, painting surfaces etc. He makes no claims that any of the information offered is absolute. As well as conducting his own studies on how to achieve a certain painterly effect he has also drawn on technical information published by the various "art experts" (listed in the bibliography).

Results of recent studies of old master paintings indicating that the current thinking on techniques might be wrong. The old masters would typically have a team of apprentices working alongside them, mixing paint, painting parts of the painting that the master was probably too bored to bother with (as well as good training for the apprentice) etc. The Master/Apprentice setup allowed for a continuous stream of knowledge being passed along the generations. However as oil paint technology advanced, in particular the ability to buy premixed paints off the shelf, the painter no longer needed a team of apprentices. He could pretty much get by on his own. Hence there was no longer anyone for the painter to pass on his knowledge to. This resulted in a considerable amount of technical knowledge being lost. (A good example is the recent theory promulgated by David Hockney that the old masters were able to paint such realistic paintings as they used rudimentary projection techniques to place a guide image on the canvas, overwhich they painted. No one knows if he is right or wrong).

From the 1800's on, technical experts such as Charles Eastlake ("Methods and Materials of Painting") and Max Doerner ("The Materials of the Artist") began to impart their wisdom on how the old master paintings were created. But the techniques thay had available were very rudimentary, more often than not being a case of the expert trying to reproduce a certain style and looking at the painting surface close up. The experts proferred their theories and techniques, often with much aplomb leaving no room for doubt. Unfortunately they were often quite off the mark - they could emulate a style somewhat but never 100%. There are too many variables involved even for a discerning eye. It has only been with recent advances in scientific analysis, chemical and visual, that a truer understanding of the old master technique is finally being determined. Van Wettering's excellent "Rembrandt - the painter at work" book details the findings of extensive research carried out on a number of paintings considered to have been painted by Rembrandt. The book is 340 pages, and they still haven't got all the answers. But what they have done is to throw in to doubt the theories and techniques of the 19th/20th C experts.

There is a welter of information in this book, but if you are trying to perfectly replicate a certain old master painterly technique, and failing to do so, then be warned the experts might not be such experts afterall.

All said and done, I do recommend this book for the wealth of information it contains. Numerous recipes for mediums, varnishes, mixing paints, painting surface etc., along with a well presented demonstration of each painters technique. This book might not quite get you to a 100% replication of the desired technique but it will certainly get you close. And as science uncovers more knowledge about the "real" techniques they can be applied here accordingly.

It is not a book for beginners - a rudimentary understanding of the oil painting process is reqd at minimum. Beginners might want to check out Brian Gorst's "The Complete Oil Painters" also.

Excellent book! ~the things they didn't teach you in art school.

This book is mandatory for anybody who ever REALLY wanted to know how to paint.

* It covers variations of the masters. * Life drawing skills are a must.

It doesn't really touch on "alla prima" well... which is good because these master techniques are better to start with and use before moving to more immediate techniques.

It is not to say this book isn't advanced, it is. The author goes step by step and shows you how forgiving and versatile the master's methods are.

It helped me move from being stuck on underpaintings for ten years to finished pieces with consistency and confidence.

I found this book to be very helpful in paint choices, mediums, setting up your canvas, etc... but I would not recommend it for beginners. It does not teach you blending techniques in depth enough or drawing which I believe are the cornerstones of a fine painting. If you want to paint like the old masters and have mastered the technique of blending get this book. Otherwise start with a beginner oil painting book. It is NOT necessary to make your own paint. Paints today are made very well and you do not need to go that far to create a fine painting. You can if you want but it is not necessary. Joseph Sheppard merely puts the info on blending your own mediums in the book should you choose to do so.
:-)

The author of this book is incompetent in the matter of his subject.

As he admits in his introduction, he is not really interested in understanding the way the Old Masters treated their media, but he is merely trying to imitate certain visual effects by those which are "comparable to those produced by the masters". According to him, there are many ways of painting any single picture, and he claims to be able to show one of the many possibilities.

The first part of the book is concerned with the paint mediums. All recipes he mentions come from a single source: "The Secret Formulas and Techniques of the Masters" by Jacques Maroger. The simple "alternatives" (made with ingredients which you can obtain even in this country) are borrowed from Max Doerner. Three other respectable sources in Sheppard's bibliography are Cennino Cennini, Sir Eastlake and Ralph Mayer. The author is referring to these fundamental works as "just recipe works" which don't "show" how to work.

In the second (and the largest) part of his book Mr. Sheppard is trying to demonstrate various techniques used by the various masters. The choice of subject is delibirately "free", i.e. the author seriously belives that a painting technique can be treated independently from the subject. Subsequently, all the "techniques" shown are basically identical. This entire section could have been replaced with a simple explanation what imprimitura is and how paint layers effect each other. The reader can find it in any other painting book or free in the internet.

The figure drawings the author presents in his examples indicate a good knowledge of anatomy but betray poor drawing skills. As a result, a dreadful lack of any tension dominates his pictures. More than that, I believe the pictures were painted from photographs and not from life, so little they have to do with the reality! Ironically, the author explanes the vivid tension in Rembrandt's works with his presumed lack of the drawing facility. Rembrandt's impact on the history of graphic arts was probably unknown to Mr. Sheppard.

The choice of colors is unfortunately wrong too. In this case, the distortion is partly delibirate (use of cheaper pigments) and partly erroneous. The claim the masters mixed gray out of black and white is wrong, as far as I know. No wonder the pictures look so lifeless, dull and disunified.

This book is not after understanding the art of the old masters but rather after a superficial imitation of glazing effects and producing ugliness and kitsch in the way the Old Masters didn't.

It is one of the worst books I have ever seen. I sent it back.

How To Paint Like The Old Masters is a must have book for any serious artist. Mr. Sheppard covers the greatest artist of all time and gives both a verbal and pictorial description of how it was done. He is especially good at showing the importance of mediums and glazing in painting. He also gives reasonable time estimates of how long it takes to create such a painting.

What he doesn't do is show how impressionist, and other modern, painting is done. He is showing how to paint realistic pictures and there is next to nothing on more modern painting methods. When he says Old Masters he means Rembrandt, Vermeer, Rubens, et al.

The cover shows how some of the Old Masters did it. They started with a very detailed under painting in grey tones and then advanced to color. This book illustrates that kind of technique - for the most part.

Some say this book isn't for beginners. Perhaps a person brand new to painting would find the text difficult; however, for anyone who has been painting for any length of time I think this book would be helpful IF you want to try for realistic paintings in the style of the old masters. If your style is more impressionistic or if you feel you must advance away from the realism of Direr, and others, then this book would not be worth the money. I will say without reservation that the under painting in grey tones will immediately improve your paintings. It takes a LOT more time, but the results are hard excellent.

For the artist looking for realism and trying to depict the world as the old masters did this book is a wonderful find.

If you are an artist and would like to have your paintings come alive is suggest reading and using Joseph Sheppard's How to paint like the Old Masters. I have found this book invaluable to the growth of my painting ability. Of the many books I have on painting this is the one I always go to when I start an important work. Beginners and advanced painters both will find this book useful.

Sheppard's paintings are decent, not even close to an old master whom you have to come face to face with in order to see the difference (reproductions are a great leveller of talent). His use of grisaille grey undertones is rather trying and rigid. Look at half finished, or bad paintings of old masters in museums or in close up books and you'll see how different his approach is. Grisaille is a tried and used method, but most painters simply go with brown or sienna tones with local color. In any case, I am merely suggesting that his painting style is more suited for photorealism than old masters.