Hercules Separates Mounts Calpe and Abylla

Hercules Separates Mounts Calpe and Abylla (1634) by Francisco de Zurbarán. Its palette is led by bistre (#2e291f, 49%) and dark taupe (#443926, 31%). Overall the canvas is dark, muted and warm.

Color reading

Brown covers about three-fifths of the canvas. Its most vivid color, light amber #C39250, takes up just 2% of it.

Palette

#2e291f MG 219 bistre 48.6% of canvas
#443926 MG 177 dark taupe 31.2% of canvas
#5f4729 MG 168 dark amber brown 12.5% of canvas
#976c36 MG 034 amber 5.3% of canvas
#c39250 MG 033 light amber 2.4% of canvas

Color families

Brown 61%, Black 35%, Yellow 3%, Orange 1%, Gray 0%

Measurements

Lightness: 0.34
Contrast: 0.30
Vividness: 0.029
Warmth: +1.00
Complexity: 76 cells
Hue range: 0.08
Focus: 0.24

Composition

58% of the visual weight is in the right half, 60% in the upper half. Symmetry 0.63 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 65% of the canvas is calm space. Half of the detail sits in 22% of the canvas. Measured from the image, not a rule the painter followed.

Details

Date: 1634
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 136.0 × 167.0 cm
Genre: mythological painting
Collection: Museo del Prado, Madrid

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More by Francisco de Zurbarán

Hercules Fighting the Nemean Lion, 1634
Agnus Dei, 1635