Luncheon on the Grass

Luncheon on the Grass (1863) by Édouard Manet. Its palette is led by bistre (#2e2d1e, 55%) and dark golden olive (#424129, 18%), with accents of yellow. Overall the canvas is dark, muted and warm.

Color note

Manet flattened modelling into bold lights and darks and treated black as a color in its own right, as in Olympia and The Balcony.

Palette

#2e2d1e MG 219 bistre 54.7% of canvas
#424129 MG 194 dark golden olive 17.7% of canvas
#5a5736 MG 193 golden olive 13.2% of canvas
#8a8457 MG 045 yellow 9.3% of canvas
#c3b794 MG 180 pale sand 5.1% of canvas

Color families

Brown 53%, Black 39%, Gray 3%, Green 2%, Yellow 1%

Measurements

Lightness: 0.37
Contrast: 0.48
Vividness: 0.026
Warmth: +0.98
Complexity: 142 cells
Hue range: 0.23
Focus: 0.15

Composition

52% of the visual weight is in the left half, 52% in the lower half. Symmetry 0.20 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 32% of the canvas is calm space. Half of the detail sits in 27% of the canvas. Measured from the image, not a rule the painter followed.

Details

Date: 1863
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 208.0 × 264.5 cm
Genre: nude
Made in: France
Collection: Musée d'Orsay, Paris

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