Belshazzar's Feast

Belshazzar's Feast (1636) by Rembrandt. Its palette is led by soot (#191512, 47%) and dark taupe (#443825, 29%), with accents of light amber gold. Overall the canvas is dark, muted and warm.

Color note

Rembrandt worked from a limited, mostly earthy palette: ochres, umbers, lead white and black, warmed with vermilion and red lakes, often laid on thickly in the highlights.

Palette

#191512 MG 223 soot 47.0% of canvas
#443825 MG 177 dark taupe 28.5% of canvas
#6d603f MG 184 umber 15.1% of canvas
#a7996c MG 038 light gold 8.2% of canvas
#d5ba71 MG 037 light amber gold 1.1% of canvas

Color families

Black 51%, Brown 44%, Yellow 4%, Gray 0%, Orange 0%

Measurements

Lightness: 0.34
Contrast: 0.47
Vividness: 0.026
Warmth: +1.00
Complexity: 154 cells
Hue range: 0.36
Focus: 0.07

Composition

56% of the visual weight is in the right half, 57% in the upper half. Symmetry 0.17 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 33% of the canvas is calm space. Half of the detail sits in 28% of the canvas. Measured from the image, not a rule the painter followed.

Details

Date: 1636
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 167.6 × 209.2 cm
Genre: religious art
Collection: National Gallery, London

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More by Rembrandt

The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, 1632
The Storm on the Sea of Galilee, 1633
The Night Watch, 1642
The Jewish Bride, c. 1667
Return of the Prodigal Son, 1668