Niagara

Frederic Edwin Church 1826–1900

Niagara (1857) by Frederic Edwin Church. Its palette is led by taupe (#5c5348, 39%) and golden umber (#83775e, 22%), with accents of light sand. Overall the canvas is mid-toned, muted and warm.

Color reading

Brown covers more than two-thirds of the canvas. Even its most colorful tone, light sand #AF9F7B, stays close to gray.

Palette

#5c5348 MG 176 taupe 38.6% of canvas
#83775e MG 183 golden umber 21.9% of canvas
#3d372b MG 177 dark taupe 15.5% of canvas
#26241d MG 219 bistre 14.0% of canvas
#af9f7b MG 181 light sand 10.0% of canvas

Color families

Brown 70%, Gray 14%, Black 13%, Green 2%, Yellow 1%

Measurements

Lightness: 0.46
Contrast: 0.45
Vividness: 0.029
Warmth: +1.00
Complexity: 103 cells
Hue range: 0.41
Focus: 0.11

Composition

50% of the visual weight is in the left half, 66% in the lower half. Symmetry 0.00 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 42% of the canvas is calm space. Half of the detail sits in 28% of the canvas. Measured from the image, not a rule the painter followed.

Details

Date: 1857
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 101.6 × 229.9 cm
Genre: landscape painting
Made in: United States
Collection: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

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More by Frederic Edwin Church

Heart of the Andes, 1859
The Icebergs, 1861