Northern Renaissance · 1390–1441 · Flemish

Jan van Eyck

Van Eyck is often credited with inventing oil paint; he didn't, but he perfected layering it in thin, translucent glazes. That is how his deep greens and jewel-like reds were built up.

Across 4 works, the colors are mostly brown (48%), black (30%) and green (6%). On average the canvases are dark, moderately saturated and warm. Signature colors, used far more here than across the collection: dark sienna, very dark sienna, dark green, dark red and bistre.

Color print

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

• MG 219 bistre 13.5% of canvas
• MG 223 soot 9.3% of canvas
• MG 177 dark taupe 5.5% of canvas
• MG 222 charcoal 5.3% of canvas
• MG 224 black 4.5% of canvas
• MG 146 very dark sienna 4.4% of canvas
• MG 145 dark sienna 4.2% of canvas
• MG 156 dark reddish brown 3.3% of canvas
• MG 220 warm black 2.6% of canvas
• MG 176 taupe 2.5% of canvas
• MG 155 dark reddish brown 2.5% of canvas
• MG 185 dark golden umber 2.4% of canvas
• MG 060 dark muted green 2.3% of canvas
• MG 020 dark red 2.3% of canvas
• MG 169 dark brown 2.2% of canvas
• MG 148 dark rich sienna 2.2% of canvas

Measurements

Lightness

0.38

Contrast

0.49

Vividness

0.042

Warmth

+0.94

Complexity

152 cells

Hue range

0.52

Focus

0.14

Works

• Ghent Altarpiece, 1432
• Arnolfini Portrait, 1434
• Madonna of Chancellor Rolin, c. 1435
• The Madonna in the Church, 1440