Velázquez - The Needlewoman

Diego Velázquez - The Needlewoman
oil on canvas, ca. 1640/1650
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
no copyright infringement intended

Because the painting remains unfinished, the steps in the artist's process are visible. He began by priming the canvas with a gray-green base. Next, he indicated the main forms of the composition, sketching them in with darker paint, then brushing them in with broad areas of opaque color, and finally, building up the face -- the only area that appears to be finished -- with transparent layers of glaze, giving it the effect of flesh seen through softly diffused light.

(NGA)

(Velázquez)

(Washington DC National Gallery of Art)