Baroque · 1599
Judith Beheading Holofernes
Judith Beheading Holofernes (1599) by Caravaggio. Its palette is led by blue black (#201915, 56%) and dark brown (#4d311c, 22%), with accents of brown, pale sand and orange. Overall the canvas is dark, muted and warm.
Color note
Caravaggio set brightly lit figures against near-black backgrounds, the dramatic style called tenebrism. His palette was simple, earth colors, lead white, black and vermilion: the drama comes from light, not hue.
Palette
- #201915 MG 221 blue black 56.3% of canvas
- #4d311c MG 169 dark brown 21.5% of canvas
- #735537 MG 167 brown 6.5% of canvas
- #c7ae8e MG 180 pale sand 5.1% of canvas
- #a26c3f MG 030 orange 4.6% of canvas
- #ead7c2 MG 201 parchment 3.4% of canvas
- #e3e8ec MG 204 cool white 2.6% of canvas
Color families
Black 50%, Brown 39%, White 5%, Orange 3%, Yellow 2%
Measurements
Composition
54% of the visual weight is in the right half, 54% in the lower half. Symmetry 0.03 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 27% of the canvas is calm space. Half of the detail sits in 26% of the canvas. Measured from the image, not a rule the painter followed.
Details
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More by Caravaggio
- Self-Portrait as Bacchus, 1595
- Medusa, 1597
- Supper at Emmaus, 1601
- The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, 1608
- The Calling of Saint Matthew, 1609