How to Draw like Artemisia Gentileschi and Coloring Page
Below you’ll find an easy step-by-step tutorial for how to draw like Artemisia Gentileschi. She is considered one of the most accomplished of all the artists of the seventeenth-century.
A drawing of Artemisia Gentileschi
More about Artemisia Gentileschi
This tutorial will help students draw like Artemisia Gentileschi, which they could turn into a likeness of themselves, or as a portrait of her too.
Artemisia is the most celebrated female painter of the 17th century. She worked in Rome, Florence, Venice, Naples and London, for the highest echelons of European society, including the Grand Duke of Tuscany and Philip IV of Spain.
After losing her mother when she was 12 years old, she began looking after her three younger siblings while also training as an artist in her father’s workshop. Her father was well aware of her exceptional talent and showed pride in her accomplishments. In a letter to the Grand Duchess of Tuscany, he boasts, “Having studied the profession of painting, after three years she had practiced so much that I can now say that she has no peers, having created such works of art that perhaps even the most important masters of this profession cannot achieve.”
Drawing a 3/4 view Portrait
A 3/4 pose is so named because about 3/4’s of the model’s face is visible. The model is facing about a 45º angle to the viewer so that the far ear is just out of view.
If students would like to draw themselves as Artemisia might, they could use this tutorial to draw their own face with an angled view, and then add their own hair and clothing. Portraits painted in her day commonly followed this kind of pose.
Adding a Fancy Frame
One way to draw in the style of Artemisia is finish things off with a fancy frame. Not only will it add some extra color, but give a nod to all her work that hangs now in museums too.
Just print page 4 in the download, draw the portrait inside and finish by tracing the frame lines and coloring it in as well. The sample drawing here was finished with the beeswax crayons shared in the materials list that is further down on this page.
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Artemisia Coloring Page
Materials
Note: All of the below are Amazon affiliate links.
Pacon Drawing Paper, White, Standard Weight, 9″ x 12″, 500 Sheets
Ooly, Natural Beeswax Crayons, Set of 24. Made from non-toxic ingredients for ages 3 and up.
Fine Point, permanent black ink marks on paper, plastic, metal, and most other surfaces.
Directions
Time needed: 1 hour
Draw like Artemisia Gentileschi Step by Step
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Lightly draw a head shape that looks like the example above.
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Draw the right eye in the middle of paper, and the other eye to the left.
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Add the eyelid lines and the eyebrow shapes above.
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Draw a side view of the nose.
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Add a mouth directly below.
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Draw the neck and shoulders.
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The drawing could be turned into a 3/4 self portrait now, if you wish. The example above shows short hair could be added.
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Or you can finish the drawing to look like Artemisia, who had long hair.
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Trace with a black marker and color. To make a bold frame, trace the lines on the picture frame too, before coloring.
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