Impressionism · 1875
L'Absinthe
L'Absinthe (1875) by Edgar Degas. Its palette is led by putty (#a09872, 34%) and soot (#1e1215, 21%), with accents of pale muted golden cream. Overall the canvas is mid-toned, moderately saturated and warm.
Color note
Degas worked more and more in pastel, building up layers of pure color and fixing each coat; many of his dancers are pastels, not oils.
Palette
- #a09872 MG 173 putty 33.7% of canvas
- #1e1215 MG 223 soot 21.5% of canvas
- #3a2d25 MG 156 dark reddish brown 20.4% of canvas
- #796f51 MG 192 golden olive 19.0% of canvas
- #e2ddbc MG 203 pale muted golden cream 5.4% of canvas
Color families
Brown 70%, Black 22%, Yellow 5%, White 2%, Gray 0%
Measurements
Composition
54% of the visual weight is in the right half, 55% in the upper half. Symmetry 0.32 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 19% of the canvas is calm space. Half of the detail sits in 31% of the canvas. Measured from the image, not a rule the painter followed.
Details
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More by Edgar Degas
- The Bellelli Family, 1858
- Interior, 1868
- The Ballet Class, 1871
- Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando, 1879