Italian Renaissance · 1452–1519 · Italian

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo built his tones from many thin, translucent layers, the soft-edged technique called sfumato. Centuries of yellowed varnish now sit over his paintings, so their colors read warmer and more yellow than when he painted them.

Across 5 works, the colors are mostly brown (51%), black (33%) and gray (9%). On average the canvases are mid-toned, muted and warm. Signature colors, used far more here than across the collection: very dark umber, warm black, charcoal, bistre and dark brown.

Color print

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

• MG 222 charcoal 14.7% of canvas
• MG 219 bistre 11.4% of canvas
• MG 220 warm black 7.4% of canvas
• MG 177 dark taupe 6.3% of canvas
• MG 168 dark amber brown 4.3% of canvas
• MG 169 dark brown 4.2% of canvas
• MG 218 graphite 4.1% of canvas
• MG 223 soot 3.4% of canvas
• MG 176 taupe 3.0% of canvas
• MG 181 light sand 2.6% of canvas
• MG 187 very dark umber 2.3% of canvas
• MG 167 brown 2.2% of canvas
• MG 175 stone 2.0% of canvas
• MG 170 very dark brown 1.9% of canvas
• MG 183 golden umber 1.8% of canvas
• MG 185 dark golden umber 1.8% of canvas

Measurements

Lightness

0.39

Contrast

0.48

Vividness

0.028

Warmth

+0.94

Complexity

129 cells

Hue range

0.32

Focus

0.18

Works

• Ginevra de' Benci, c. 1476
• Lady with an Ermine, 1490
• The Last Supper, 1490s
• Salvator Mundi, 1500
• Mona Lisa, c. 1503