Irises

Irises (1889) by Vincent van Gogh. Its palette is led by muted lime green (#659582, 16%) and light muted green (#85ad94, 16%), with accents of dark blue, indigo blue, dark muted lime green and reddish brown. Overall the canvas is light, vivid and cool.

Color note

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

#659582 MG 056 muted lime green 16.4% of canvas
#85ad94 MG 055 light muted green 15.9% of canvas
#2e4474 MG 107 dark blue 15.2% of canvas
#66864a MG 065 lime green 12.0% of canvas
#607cad MG 103 indigo blue 11.1% of canvas
#3a5541 MG 059 dark muted lime green 10.8% of canvas
#916648 MG 153 reddish brown 10.7% of canvas
#8ca04e MG 044 light yellow 7.8% of canvas

Color families

Blue 39%, Green 31%, Brown 13%, Yellow 9%, Gray 6%

Measurements

Lightness: 0.57
Contrast: 0.37
Vividness: 0.070
Warmth: -0.53
Complexity: 229 cells
Hue range: 0.78
Focus: 0.00

Composition

53% of the visual weight is in the right half, 54% in the upper half. Symmetry 0.59 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 0% of the canvas is calm space. Half of the detail sits in 41% of the canvas. Measured from the image, not a rule the painter followed.

Details

Date: 1889
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 74.3 × 94.3 cm
Genre: floral painting
Collection: J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

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