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…

Nicolas Poussin

Poussin orchestrated color with the logic of a philosopher. His palette is structured: warm reds and golds in the foreground, cool blues and greens receding into rational, ordered space.

Palette: #3D3126 #5F5344 #583926 #886C50 #3F250E #191819 #B7A17D #365476

  • The Holy Family on the Steps (1648): #413329 #2B221C #5E5347 #6B6C67 #1D1818 #445E82
  • The Abduction of the Sabine Women (1633-34): #56412F #37271C #56311D #937A64 #5A564C #7F4F35
  • The Agony in the Garden (1626-27): #42230F #301C0E #673318 #292119 #453120 #7F4C2F
  • Saints Peter and John Healing the Lame Man (1655): #3C342A #605B4B #487489 #614531 #49524C #161F26
  • The Return of the Holy Family to Nazareth (ca. 1627): #483D31 #322820 #623B2B #635F56 #8A6F57 #22211E
  • Saint John Baptizing in the River Jordan (ca. 1630): #3C2810 #757873 #55371A #5C5640 #28190D #AB9570
  • Joseph der Tyder Faraos Drøm (1609-65): #2B2929 #42322B #694B3C #93725F #4A4C4E #57626F
  • Moses Og den Brændende Tornebusk (1641): #392E1C #806840 #5C513D #484242 #3E4F6E #B99E6A

The Palette

The Works

How the palette changed

Chromatic Comparison

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