Surrealism · 1938

La durée poignardée (Time Transfixed)

René Magritte 1898–1967

Still in copyright: the image isn't shown, only the colors measured from it.

La durée poignardée (Time Transfixed) (1938) by René Magritte. Its palette is led by brown (#735a43, 27%) and taupe (#595048, 21%). Overall the canvas is mid-toned, moderately saturated and warm.

Color reading

Brown covers nearly nine-tenths of the canvas. Even its most colorful tone, brown #735A43, stays close to gray.

Palette

#735a43 MG 167 brown 27.1% of canvas
#595048 MG 176 taupe 21.0% of canvas
#88735e MG 166 amber brown 19.6% of canvas
#3e3935 MG 218 graphite 19.0% of canvas
#ada191 MG 181 light sand 13.3% of canvas

Color families

Brown 87%, Gray 12%, Yellow 1%, Black 1%

Measurements

Lightness: 0.50
Contrast: 0.39
Vividness: 0.032
Warmth: +1.00
Complexity: 115 cells
Hue range: 0.18
Focus: 0.00

Composition

51% of the visual weight is in the right half, 53% in the upper half. Symmetry 0.29 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 62% of the canvas is calm space. Half of the detail sits in 21% of the canvas. Measured from the image, not a rule the painter followed.

Details

Date: 1938
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 147 × 98 cm
Made in: Belgium
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago