Equestrian Portrait of Charles V

Titian 1490–1576

Equestrian Portrait of Charles V (1548) by Titian. Its palette is led by dark taupe (#3a3123, 41%) and warm black (#1d150b, 39%), with accents of amber brown. Overall the canvas is dark, muted and warm.

Color note

Titian built his colors in many layers of glaze over a colored ground, the Venetian way of putting color before drawing. The copper-red hair of his sitters gave English the color name “Titian”.

Palette

#3a3123 MG 177 dark taupe 40.6% of canvas
#1d150b MG 220 warm black 39.1% of canvas
#685538 MG 184 umber 14.5% of canvas
#a88e6e MG 165 amber brown 3.5% of canvas
#e3c79c MG 031 pale orange amber 2.3% of canvas

Color families

Brown 55%, Black 40%, Gray 2%, Yellow 1%, White 1%

Measurements

Lightness: 0.32
Contrast: 0.42
Vividness: 0.026
Warmth: +1.00
Complexity: 88 cells
Hue range: 0.38
Focus: 0.09

Composition

54% of the visual weight is in the right half, 53% in the upper half. Symmetry 0.07 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 43% 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: 1548
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 335.0 × 283.0 cm
Genre: equestrian portrait
Made in: Holy Roman Empire
Collection: Museo del Prado, Madrid

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