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…

James Ensor

Ensor painted carnival masks and skeletons in colors of hallucinatory intensity — acid yellows, blood reds, and the sickly greens of decomposition. His palette is simultaneously festive and macabre.

Palette: #BCB5A4 #9B8661 #54412C #A37035 #8D5133 #7A2E18 #214B41 #CFA932

  • The Garden of the Rousseau Family (1885): #5F6555 #7B8771 #B3B8AE #63774F #836A53 #90ACBA
  • Christ's Entry Into Brussels In (1888): #BBA598 #8A3B29 #716B5D #AA7F69 #276737 #9B614C
  • Dahlias (c. 1): #A68E71 #A59D91 #8D523D #5D756F #906E60 #CCC8BA
  • Leman Discussing Painting (1890): #B1A273 #777752 #13110A #9C7D4B #86582E #6E2114
  • Portrait of Augusta Boogaerts Seated (22 M): #8F8E7A #9F7B3A #1B1915 #4D493B #9B9063 #6C6143
  • Still Life with Fruit and Parrot (22 M): #B4AB80 #9F8F57 #896436 #7A7B53 #493622 #9B502B
  • Phantastisches Stillleben: #9B9B8D #867E6C #8F5041 #47584F #6E5744 #616F69
  • Stillleben mit Blauer Flasche und Gerupftem Huhn: #524930 #09251E #9F8958 #273629 #616A4E #70663E
  • Girl with Upturned Nose (1879): #393227 #231D15 #4E3F21 #826549 #67655D #17130D
  • Fall of the Rebel Angels (1889): #95785F #79533C #B2A087 #6E6356 #4E3C31 #653C2A
  • The Skate (1880): #433C25 #2A2416 #726746 #968E6C #1B170E #B1AB86
  • Azaleas (1925): #CDCEC0 #C59C8B #A67463 #98AE93 #69866B #B0C380
  • Fort Napoleon (1876): #B2AFA4 #83714C #94948D #544C30 #3A3220
  • Fish and Shells (1895): #A46B3E #7E4117 #71512E #A56E28 #BEAE93 #C9935F
  • The Vengeance of Hop-Frog (1896): #C9C9C9 #B9A6A9 #B0696A #934541 #C7C399 #575E62
  • Carnival in Flanders (1929): #D2CAB0 #B1AE9C #D1A992 #941A0D #141212 #495B34
  • Flowers and Masks (1929): #A79F70 #5C5E39 #66868D #2E3A24 #0E130F #9F9E81
  • Le Christ Tourmenté (Christ Tormented) (1888): #D8CE9C #9A7223 #BAA77E #C8AE3C #DACB71 #645736
  • The Mask's Wedding (1926): #8C806E #83543E #7C2311 #756353 #587161 #032D23
  • Skeletons in Fancy Dress (1898): #B4AA9D #B89E73 #A4825C #8695A3 #89887E #AF371C
  • Bathers (Curved and Wavy Lines) (1916): #CA8F60 #A79777 #94753C #B37031 #818375 #87764C
  • Carnival (1930): #DFC96F #E1D498 #C99C3D #CC340E #EBD217 #CD631B
  • Baptism of the Masks (1891): #D3D1CB #B8B3A3 #A6B2C1 #BE9F83 #8E8F7C #C3A740
  • The Wise Judges (1891): #C4CEC9 #131511 #BDAB8C #8AA5AE #213C36 #A63114

The Palette

The Works

How the palette changed

Chromatic Comparison

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