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…

Francis Picabia

Picabia reinvented himself endlessly. His palette shifted from Impressionist pastels through mechanical grays to lurid figurative colors — each phase a deliberate chromatic provocation.

Palette: #727667 #B27E4B #7A5E3F #AA5633 #DBC0A2 #CEA25F #15100E #4B6BA5

  • Francis Picabia (1912): #302922 #53473B #A78E71 #756555 #15100D #8B401F
  • Landscape at Cassis (1911-12): #0B2220 #72A273 #3D5951 #12352D #174D37 #868F88
  • Francis Picabia (1911): #142638 #405169 #258078 #0A122E #D58851 #BC612C
  • Femme aux Mimosas (1908): #C9BFA5 #DDB4A0 #E5B064 #C59179 #CE6762 #8D846E
  • Femme sur Fond Vert (1938): #5C7C3F #1E2A3A #3B5934 #16181D #2B4A65 #354D55
  • El Sombrero Amarillo (26 M): #232327 #776957 #486165 #3C231D #632D20 #31444B
  • Adam et Ève (1911): #E5C0AE #24392F #A3A326 #D7754E #7B3B77 #66355C
  • Bords du Loing ; Effet d'Automne le Matin à Moret (1904): #AFB8C0 #B19A78 #B4844B #91754C #CFC5B2 #895C31
  • Bords du Loing ; Effet d'Automne le Matin à Moret (1904): #B3B8BD #AF8B5C #AEA088 #757673 #7C6443 #BA6E24
  • Bouquet de Fleurs: #93785D #755B4E #2B332F #C2BDB1 #9C3D30 #465541
  • Caoutchouc (1909): #8A7560 #3B2C2A #C9A178 #E2C6A9 #614B41 #B4A085
  • Francis Picabia (1912): #484547 #895D53 #63443F #B5887B #767679
  • Catch as Catch Can (1913): #1C2318 #765E38 #AB6639 #BF976B #3E391D #E4DBD5
  • Edtaonisl (Ecclesiastic) (1913): #393732 #65635C #935B39 #B38936 #959288 #CCB895
  • Udnie (Young American Girl, the Dance) (1913): #151618 #8A8886 #494744 #E0D7CD #AEB7C7 #758EBE
  • Force Comique (1913): #D5D6D6 #9EB3C7 #6C8EA9 #1D2521 #4B6986 #343D47
  • Francis Picabia (1916-17): #78644A #544935 #24221F #3E362A #70422B #9B9A92
  • Sous Les Oliviers (1925): #77A768 #1F241E #4E704B #394937 #A7CB97 #63895A
  • Woman with a Dog (1926): #C0B7BA #8D8E9E #B6BBD9 #CD5C59 #E08280 #EDEAE9
  • Autoportrait (1940): #171012 #4667F3 #425AC7 #C19443 #D9B55D #9D723E
  • Portrait d'Un Couple (Cerisier) (1943): #77737F #181514 #9B9BB7 #DCC2A5 #CA9A81 #754B27
  • Symbole (1950): #AA82A9 #8A93A9 #111010 #DAC6BC #415F9B #76506E
  • The Dance at the Spring (1912): #9F5234 #2F2823 #D18C64 #D77447 #EAD1BA #E0B290
  • Caoutchouc (ca. 1909): #655E5A #171724 #9F7551 #484244 #938679 #795C42
  • Idylle (2025): #5F84A1 #56676E #C7C0BA #353A32 #1E1614 #405A91
  • Salicis (2025): #AC7D33 #89602A #8A815B #6F5D32 #63421B #44341C
  • Catch as Catch Can, 1913 (Pmoa) (1913): #12100F #7A5C3E #C0A485 #2E2926 #B35E39 #EEE7DE
  • Champ de Narcisse (1942): #BFBD97 #737543 #A5974E #8EB0CC #575F3E #12151B
  • Le Retour de la Pêche, Les Martigues (1903): #C6D3D0 #363533 #4D8D9F #596666 #C9B89C #514F45
  • Le Pont de Pierre-Perthuis (1907): #7A7A75 #57571A #5B5B49 #484925 #363D32 #2D3114
  • Meules à Contre-Jour, Moret, le Soir (1904): #E6D5B3 #B2844D #C4AD8A #CFB06F #B9AC9C #925A2B
  • Nature Morte aux Pommes et Fleurs: #A69C88 #717B8D #4D5445 #7C4440 #617042 #E5D6A8
  • New York, Par (1913): #C9B574 #AF6A40 #CDA883 #292827 #B39047 #E0DBCE
  • Portrait de Femme: #0C0C0C #D6A63F #E2C48F #CCA668 #BB780A #9D6111
  • Hera (c. 1): #A99C69 #7C7C62 #1E1A1A #575954 #6A7389 #AC9447
  • Stardancer (1913): #CAC6BF #110202 #9C928C #F5F4F3 #726260 #C30F3B
  • Poète Espagnol: #1B1B1D #6C7465 #4D6685 #D8BD9A #C27E5C #343435
  • Prenez Garde à la Peinture By (2025): #B9B3A1 #7E7B6D #5C5038 #38410D #1D190F #969485
  • Saint-Tropez, Musée de L'Annonciade (1909): #CDD3DD #8F9B7B #AAACD0 #667ECB #D6B58A #49585F

The Palette

The Works

How the palette changed

Chromatic Comparison

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