Lady with an Ermine

Lady with an Ermine (1490) by Leonardo da Vinci. Its palette is led by charcoal (#282827, 70%) and dark taupe (#4c362d, 12%), with accents of amber brown, light orange amber and dark grey. Overall the canvas is dark, muted and warm.

Color note

Leonardo built his tones from many thin, translucent layers, the soft-edged technique called sfumato. Centuries of yellowed varnish now sit over his paintings, so their colors read warmer and more yellow than when he painted them.

Palette

#282827 MG 222 charcoal 69.9% of canvas
#4c362d MG 177 dark taupe 11.6% of canvas
#775945 MG 167 brown 6.4% of canvas
#a58364 MG 165 amber brown 5.8% of canvas
#c7aa86 MG 032 light orange amber 4.5% of canvas
#5e6e70 MG 216 dark grey 1.8% of canvas

Color families

Black 61%, Brown 28%, Gray 9%, Orange 1%, Yellow 0%

Measurements

Lightness: 0.34
Contrast: 0.42
Vividness: 0.017
Warmth: +1.00
Complexity: 100 cells
Hue range: 0.34
Focus: 0.36

Composition

59% of the visual weight is in the right half, 63% in the lower half. Symmetry 0.63 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 61% of the canvas is calm space. Half of the detail sits in 17% of the canvas. Measured from the image, not a rule the painter followed.

Details

Date: 1490
Medium: Oil and tempera on walnut panel and panel
Size: 54.0 × 39.0 cm
Genre: portrait
Collection: Czartoryski Museum, Kraków

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