Bedroom in Arles

Bedroom in Arles (1888) by Vincent van Gogh. Its palette is led by golden umber (#907346, 36%) and light muted green (#a0a898, 21%), with accents of dark muted lime green, cool grey and dark rich brown. Overall the canvas is light, vivid and warm.

Color notes

Van Gogh painted the walls violet. The red in that mix was a fugitive lake pigment that has faded, which is why the walls look blue today.

Van Gogh built his color on complementary contrasts, blue against orange and red against green, learned from Delacroix and Japanese prints. Some of his reds were fugitive and have faded, so parts of his paintings are cooler today than he made them.

Palette

#907346 MG 183 golden umber 36.1% of canvas
#a0a898 MG 055 light muted green 20.7% of canvas
#9d7e16 MG 039 gold 18.3% of canvas
#9f9745 MG 044 light yellow 9.6% of canvas
#445132 MG 059 dark muted lime green 6.7% of canvas
#6a7a7d MG 209 cool grey 6.6% of canvas
#712a10 MG 160 dark rich brown 2.0% of canvas

Color families

Brown 41%, Yellow 35%, Gray 15%, Green 6%, Blue 2%

Measurements

Lightness: 0.60
Contrast: 0.30
Vividness: 0.071
Warmth: +0.98
Complexity: 121 cells
Hue range: 0.38
Focus: 0.12

Composition

52% of the visual weight is in the right half, 56% in the lower half. Symmetry 0.08 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 36% of the canvas is calm space. Half of the detail sits in 30% of the canvas. Measured from the image, not a rule the painter followed.

Details

Date: 1888
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 72.4 × 91.3 cm
Collection: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

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