The Art of creating an interior portrait with water colors

Master Class The Art of creating an interior portrait using dry watercolors
 

with Claudie Thomas
Artist painter – Instructor – Heritage restorer

Indulge in a rare artistic experience, 
where each brushstroke connects you to a lineage of female artists and master watercolorists
who captured the silent poetry of interior spaces.

This master class invites you to rediscover a little-known artistic tradition that emerged in the late 17th century and reached its peak in the second half of the 19th century: interior portraiture using dry watercolors.

Long practiced in aristocratic and bourgeois circles, this demanding art form consisted of depicting the refined interiors of residences with extreme precision, without any human presence. Light, materials, the arrangement of volumes, and the atmosphere became the real focus of the work. An exercise in technical virtuosity and sensitivity, interior portraiture revealed the skill of realistic watercolorists, who were able to immortalize a place with rigor, depth, and elegance while allowing the soul of the scene to shine through.

Highlights of this course
- A rare five-day master class dedicated to the interior portrait in dry watercolor, based on historical methods spanning from the 17th to the 19th century.  
- This demanding technique allows artists to render interiors without human presence, focusing on light, materials, spatial composition and atmosphere.  
- It is still practiced today for private commissions, architectural projects and high-end decorative work.

      
                           Alexandre SEREBRIAKOFF.                                                                   Alexandre SEREBRIAKOFF. 
              Aquarelle de Chambre de Eugène SCHNEIDER.                                        Aquarelle Bathroom, Hotel Rodocanachi / 1948

Immerse yourself in the little-known artistic tradition of interior portraiture in dry watercolour.  This art, which emerged in the late 17th century and reached its peak in the second half of the 19th century, was practised mainly by ladies of the aristocracy and bourgeoisie.  This subtle art form involved depicting the refined interiors of residences in extreme detail, absent of any human presence. It was an exercise in skill that showcased the technical virtuosity of realistic watercolorists and immortalised sumptuous interiors.
 

The interior portraiture in today's world.
To this day, this art form remains vibrant and highly sought after.

Artists continue this practice through private commissions.  Owners of exceptional apartments, mansions, castles, or secondary residences commission portraits of their interiors to preserve their memory, give them as gifts, or pass them on. These works become sensitive testimonies to a way of life, a deep attachment to a place steeped in history and emotion. 

Architects, decorators, and set designers also use interior portraiture to enrich their projects. It allows them to offer their clients a luxurious artistic object that conveys a unique atmosphere, combining representation, memory, and creation.

This master class is not limited to a simple demonstration.
It aims to teach you a structured method, derived from historical practices,
which you can apply in your artistic or professional work on a lasting basis.

The program for this five-day master class includes:*

After completing this master class, you will have acquired
a solid and practical understanding of painting an interior portrait with dry watercolor.

History and context: 
- The origins of interior portraiture, its rise in aristocratic and bourgeois salons, and its artistic legacy.  
- Understanding the historical and aesthetic foundations of interior portraiture, in order to situate your work within a cohorent and demanding artistic tradition;

Traditional techniques: 
Master the specific principles of dry watercolor:  
- preparing the surface
- managing the medium
- layering washes and controlling values;

Hands-on guided practice:
- how to construct an interior devoid of human presence, giving full expression to the light, the volume, materials and perspective;
- how to conveny the atmosphere of a place - calm, intimacy, solemnity, refinement - without resorting to an anecdotal

Creation of a unique work: 
- developing a rigorous, reproductible working method, suitable for both personal research and commissions;
- understanding contemporary expectations for interior portraitures (private commissions, decorative projects, scenography) and responding to them accordingly.

* The programme is provided for information purposes and is not binding. It may be subject to certain adjustments or modifications if the instructor deems it necessary to assure the successful completion of the training course.
 

Eduard Hau. Aquarelle The Rotunda, Winter Palace, 1862  Saint-Pétersburg, Ermitage

Target audience - Who is this master class for?

This master class is for artists, painters, watercolorists, decorative painters, decorators, set designers, or professionals working with visual arts and spatial design who already have artistic experience and wish to:
– deepen their knowledge of a rare and demanding technique;
– enrich their pictorial vocabulary through a historically grounded approach;
– gain access to little-known expertise;
– give their work a more accomplished and high-end dimension.

This master class is not suitable if:
– you are a complete beginner in drawing or watercolor painting;
– you are looking for a quick, simplified, or purely playful approach;
– you expect ready-made recipes without personal commitment to the practice.

Preliminary interview required before registration (by email for overseas applications). 

Organisation: Atelier Nadaï

Instructor:     Claudie THOMAS
Dates:            June 15th to June 19th, 2026
Duration:       5 days. 8 hours by day (40 hours)
Location:        Atelier Nadaï, 8 rue François Arago, 47000 AGEN, France
Tuition:          1200,00 euros (vocational training course exempt of French 20% VAT)

♦ Course tuition includes:  
- Claudie Thomas' daily instructions and critics of your work
- the surface to paint on and the free use of watercolors
- colored photocopy of subject rendered in class.
- coffee, tea and biscuits during breaks

N'est pas compris dans le coût du stage:
♦ personal tools, transportation, accommodation and meals are not included in course tuition. 

Practical information:
Duration:      Five days, eight hours per day (40 hours in total)
Materials:     Substrate and watercolors provided by Atelier Nadaï
Result:          An original watercolor painting created according to artistic principles steeped in a two-century's old tradition.

To receive the course brochure or if you have any inquiries, please don't hesitate to contact us.

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