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…

Georges de La Tour

La Tour reduced painting to candlelight. His nocturnes glow with warm amber and deep red against velvety darkness — color distilled to its most elemental.

Palette: #110E0F #70523D #553020 #884327 #CEAA7C #A6886A #9D704B #6E2C17

  • Saint Peter Repentant (1645): #26231E #161615 #594030 #7E553F #B9A289
  • The Repentant Magdalen (ca. 1635-40): #130E0C #311F17 #52301E #835B38 #D5C27C
  • The Fortune-Teller (1630): #50351D #7C6443 #712914 #201910 #9F9276 #6B4B2C
  • The Penitent Magdalen (ca. 1640): #120A0A #422210 #25120B #6F4825 #BD9E6D #9A7247
  • Le Christ Bénissant Vers: #4A4140 #705545 #2B2A28 #1A150F #AB583B #131819
  • Saint André: #1C1917 #38291D #7F6753 #95371D #623F29 #523F30
  • Saint Jacques le Majeur (Copie): #2C3138 #957C67 #1C2126 #545555 #624D41 #7B4735
  • Saint Jacques le Mineur (1620): #2F312D #6D5F4B #97835E #171B18 #D9B971 #514B41
  • Saint Jude Thaddée (1620): #2D2B2C #50443B #887464 #6E523C #B78865 #E9CBB1
  • Saint Paul (Copie): #857B73 #171821 #2F272B #904E29 #4B3C39 #CBDADA
  • Saint Philippe: #312E2B #181A1C #614B3E #3E403C #997157 #492F27
  • Saint Pierre (Copie): #181722 #998172 #3F6560 #2B4447 #39272B #CE9770
  • Saint Simon: #191A1D #4F4E45 #DECA9C #313130 #AA9572 #E5AC70
  • Saint Thomas (Copie): #283D40 #53615B #878E7D #665E49 #102227 #5C7979
  • De la Tour Erbsen Essendes Bauernpaar Anagoria (1622-25): #1B1F1D #545652 #893428 #858880 #665140 #8E4C3C
  • The Fortune Teller (1593-1653): #4A2D17 #8D6C4D #6F4E29 #170F0E #953A19 #A49182
  • Blind Musician: #080307 #301B17 #674932 #432E23 #9A714A #1C0F10
  • Christ in the Carpenter's Shop (Detail) (1642): #121010 #2D1818 #462322 #D3976A #EDC195 #61322B
  • Job Mocked by His Wife (1630): #291E20 #542B2D #6D463D #9D6755 #432C2C #B24D3E
  • Peasant Couple Eating: #0A050A #48312F #2B1D1E #712A27 #45201E #994E45
  • The Musicians' Brawl (abou): #0E0D09 #724F36 #230F0A #AC7C5D #370E07 #542009
  • Saint Jerome Reading (16 J): #121110 #4D3320 #291D15 #442110 #582712 #C69E61
  • 聖トマス (Unda): #13171D #543C25 #3F372F #25201E #3A2519 #7A6346
  • The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs (c. 1): #2C251D #B1946B #664B30 #84592F #876E4E #E5CCAB
  • The Magdalen with the Smoking Flame: #100B07 #361A0F #502816 #6D3822 #211009 #7A5741
  • The Repentant Magdalen ((c.): #110D0B #321F16 #532F1D #744C2D #DBCB7F #9C7D4D
  • Ghironda-Spieler (Drehleier) mit Hund: #28221E #524637 #A18863 #422C1E #A45329 #58331D
  • Ghironda-Spieler (Drehleier) mit Hund, Detail: Hund: #3C1A1A #533A35 #0C0304 #230B0F #75594E #62312A
  • Hl. Josef Als Zimmermann, Detail: Hände des Christuskind mit Kerze: #100203 #873D2B #2F100F #60271D #481D18 #AB7B55
  • Knabe Bläst in eine Lampe: #120303 #260E0C #874431 #A46A45 #5D2C21 #C09565
  • The Denial of Saint Peter. (1650): #201C19 #3D2824 #5F3B2E #7C4A35 #8F664B #552122
  • The Education of the Virgin: #140A05 #88470A #6C370B #542607 #3F1A06 #311204
  • Saint Jerome Reading (1621-23): #301E28 #151318 #593039 #826060 #C84142 #7A2F38
  • Saint Joseph Charpentier (1640): #070A0B #3A291A #804F2A #20120D #5C311C #212019
  • The Discovery of Saint Alexis (After 1649) (1649): #251D18 #3E342B #604C3D #806C5F #E8BA9B #FBEBD7
  • The Penitent Magdalen: #03090B #281B0D #3C220F #16130C #CDB780 #563210

The Palette

The Works

How the palette changed

Chromatic Comparison

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