Cubism & Early Abstraction · 1921

Mother and Child

Pablo Picasso 1881–1973

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

Mother and Child (1921) by Pablo Picasso. Its palette is led by grey (#85807a, 28%) and dark reddish brown (#614338, 26%), with accents of red. Overall the canvas is light, moderately saturated and warm.

Color note

Picasso's early periods are named after colors: the Blue Period (1901–04), which followed a close friend's suicide, and the warmer Rose Period (1904–06). In Analytic Cubism (1909–12) he and Braque cut color back to near-monochrome browns and greys to concentrate on form.

Palette

#85807a MG 215 grey 27.9% of canvas
#614338 MG 155 dark reddish brown 26.5% of canvas
#aea6a0 MG 172 oatmeal 21.2% of canvas
#995f4f MG 018 red 13.5% of canvas
#d59b8a MG 142 light salmon 10.9% of canvas

Color families

Brown 56%, Gray 32%, Red 7%, Pink 3%, Orange 2%

Measurements

Lightness: 0.59
Contrast: 0.41
Vividness: 0.035
Warmth: +1.00
Complexity: 130 cells
Hue range: 0.08
Focus: 0.17

Composition

60% of the visual weight is in the right half, 56% in the lower half. Symmetry 0.00 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 41% of the canvas is calm space. Half of the detail sits in 29% of the canvas. Measured from the image, not a rule the painter followed.

Details

Date: 1921
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 142 × 172 cm
Made in: Spain
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago