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Hi Janet.
First of all, I know why you've had a blast copying this one - it is such a magnificent portrait. It's a powerful example of why Bouguereau is one of the greatest painters ever. I've got a canvas with this very image sketched in and ready to go - I can't wait to start it. And you did an excellent job in getting close to the original.
The drawing (proportion, position of the features, etc.) is nearly exact - which leads me to believe you either projected it or used a grid system. So, nothing to critique there. Your color is very good in my opinion. In some places, the flesh tone as it transitions into the rosy cheek areas - I think Bouguereau's colors there are a bit cooler, and in the original, those tints are very close in hue and chroma. You are getting that incredible, (unbelievably) light grey that Bouguereau uses to great effect in the midtone to shadow areas. It's what makes this painting so incredible - how so much of the form of this face is achieved not with light vs. dark tones - but a delicate use of warm and cool tints. In the hair, I think you are overdoing the burnt umber/sienna - it is used very sparingly (and a bit darker) in the original - letting that marvellous purplish grey carry a lot of the form of the curls. But I think - all in all - your color is on the right track. .
Where I think you have a problem is with the values. I've taken the images you posted (the original and your copy) and made grayscale copies. You can see, I think, more clearly this way where your values are off. The eyes, for instance - particularly her right eye: the "white" of the eye, the eyelids, the highlight in particular, are all too light in your copy - In the original, that eye is in shadow, and though not such a strong shadow that any of those details are obscured, the range of values is more limited, in a narrower range than what you show - less contrast. I think we all, or at least most of us, have a tendency to exaggerate differences in value, making passages more contrasty than they need to be. Bouguereau's transitions are often so subtle, it takes a great degree of care and restraint to duplicate. In the original there are very, very soft transitions between the hair and the skin of her face - those are also areas that I think could be revisited.
In looking at the grayscale versions, I'm also noticing all the areas where your values are spot on. So I think this is a good excercise when copying a master painting - to compare grayscale versions. There will always be little surprises waiting for us. We sometimes don't pick up on value differences in the color versions.
Now, having said all that, I must say that if this is your first old master copy - I am very impressed. You should feel very proud. Hope some of this helps!
-David
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