The Colorist
Archive

A living archive of how artists work with color across time. Each artist profile scans publicly available works to trace dominant colors, a chromatic fingerprint, and the arc of a palette across a lifetime.A living archive of how artists work with color across time, tracing palettes, fingerprints, and lifetime arcs from public works.

Begin with an artist, carry a palette into the drawing system, or read the wider project.Begin with an artist, carry a palette into the drawing system, or read the wider project.

Scanning works…

Fernand Léger

Léger painted the modern world as a machine — bold black outlines filled with flat planes of primary red, blue, and yellow. His palette is industrial, democratic, and deliberately anti-subtle.

Palette: #D7D1C3 #131111 #AE321E #DCC966 #BD9A6E #CBBB87 #BA9F40 #E39426

  • Kvinde Med Vase (1924): #A2A5AA #272830 #28364F #51545A #7F8185 #702227
  • The Baluster (1925): #CACCBC #141613 #AA451E #CBC46A #35342A #9EA08C
  • The Typographer (1919): #39373A #D8D1C1 #835453 #773031 #666363 #2C3A6A
  • Reclining Woman (1922): #1A181A #DDCFC6 #2E2F33 #675048 #E4D575 #080708
  • Still Life (1926): #151116 #AD3B14 #E3CB68 #DADDD4 #AAAEAA #1B1D28
  • The Train Station (1918): #DFD4C7 #363436 #8A8476 #585452 #7B8CB1 #D3C33E
  • Woman on Red Ground (1927): #AF1F1F #B8B7AF #262120 #52514F #8C8C87 #0C070B
  • Still Life with a Beer Mug (1921): #333334 #D0CEC6 #976C43 #B0AFA8 #636362 #B9A15C
  • The Punching Machine (1918): #D0CBBD #9C9A92 #3F3D3D #707272 #C3A840 #0A0A0B
  • Composition (Study for "Nude Model in the Studio") (1912): #C79B72 #7D654E #E6DFD7 #383532 #A8886A #D4BDA7
  • Mona Lisa with Keys (1930): #D9DCDD #373838 #EBAA34 #878E8E #C1953C #344F8E
  • Abstract Composition (1919): #171412 #E9E4DE #BD2420 #C6B8A8 #DAC66E #0A2747
  • The Blue Wheel, Final State (1920): #E4E1D3 #212324 #263F6A #6D6E6D #B9A13B #A1A19D
  • Mechanical Element (1920): #CDC7B3 #46483E #23241F #938C7D #AC3D1E #B4A776
  • Three Women at the Red Table (1921): #CABA9C #484034 #1C1812 #6C645C #958B79 #BD3F1C

The Palette

The Works

How the palette changed

Chromatic Comparison

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