Romanticism · 1798–1863 · French

Eugène Delacroix

Delacroix studied how colors act on each other side by side, using complementary contrasts and colored shadows. His ideas about color shaped the Impressionists and Van Gogh.

Across 4 works, the colors are mostly brown (35%), gray (27%) and black (25%). On average the canvases are mid-toned, muted and warm. Signature colors, used far more here than across the collection: pewter, pigeon grey, bistre, charcoal and light grey.

Color print

The swatches covering most of these canvases, averaged over every work, dark to light.

• MG 222 charcoal 9.5% of canvas
• MG 219 bistre 8.3% of canvas
• MG 223 soot 6.2% of canvas
• MG 218 graphite 4.8% of canvas
• MG 177 dark taupe 4.7% of canvas
• MG 214 pewter 4.3% of canvas
• MG 213 light grey 3.8% of canvas
• MG 220 warm black 3.5% of canvas
• MG 217 iron 3.2% of canvas
• MG 221 blue black 3.1% of canvas
• MG 208 pigeon grey 3.0% of canvas
• MG 211 dark slate 3.0% of canvas
• MG 216 dark grey 2.9% of canvas
• MG 176 taupe 2.9% of canvas
• MG 156 dark reddish brown 2.5% of canvas
• MG 215 grey 2.3% of canvas

Measurements

Lightness

0.44

Contrast

0.56

Vividness

0.026

Warmth

+0.51

Complexity

188 cells

Hue range

0.54

Focus

0.09

Composition

Averaged over 4 works: 52% of the visual weight in the right half, 54% in the lower half; symmetry 0.32; 20% calm space; half of the detail in 30% of the canvas. Measured from each image, not a rule the painters followed.

Works

• The Barque of Dante, 1822
• The Massacre at Chios, 1824
• Death of Sardanapalus, 1827
• Liberty Leading the People, 1830