Final Eye Master Studies based on 'The Last Day of Pompeii' painting

Hi everyone, sharing with you today the final oil painting master studies based on the painting 'The Last Day of Pompeii'. I focused on the eyes of the people in the piece as they are the most emotive part of the painting that express the most. Each one expresses fear/sadness in a different way through their eyes.

Original painting by Karl Bryullov

Below are some photos taken in the process of creating these pieces.

A view of my painting palette

Both oil studies took several hours to complete and were done on approximately A3 sized paper

I like his particular style for the strong highlights he captures in the eyes against the dark blacks in the pupils and eyebrows. It really makes the portraits stand out in his composition. Completing these small studies made me appreciate how long it would have taken him to complete the whole painting and how much patience it would have taken to complete something of that scale.

Thanks for stopping by and for all your support!

@iansart