Mannerism · 1610
Opening of the Fifth Seal
Opening of the Fifth Seal (1610) by El Greco. Its palette is led by dark grey (#685e5c, 24%) and very dark sienna (#24181e, 16%), with accents of dark sienna, light grey, bone and dark green. Overall the canvas is mid-toned, muted and warm.
Color note
Trained as an icon painter in Crete and then in Venice, El Greco kept the Venetian love of strong color but pushed it toward cold, acid tones: sharp yellows, greens and pinks against stormy greys.
Palette
- #685e5c MG 216 dark grey 24.1% of canvas
- #24181e MG 146 very dark sienna 15.6% of canvas
- #828381 MG 215 grey 14.9% of canvas
- #512a24 MG 145 dark sienna 12.3% of canvas
- #9faaaa MG 213 light grey 10.5% of canvas
- #18243c MG 100 very dark muted blue 8.7% of canvas
- #d3ccc3 MG 171 bone 8.0% of canvas
- #2d4727 MG 068 dark green 5.9% of canvas
Color families
Brown 38%, Gray 29%, Blue 14%, Black 10%, Green 3%
Measurements
Composition
51% of the visual weight is in the left half, 57% in the lower half. Symmetry 0.46 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 5% of the canvas is calm space. Half of the detail sits in 36% of the canvas. Measured from the image, not a rule the painter followed.
Details
Share
Download the pin · Save to Pinterest
More by El Greco
- The Disrobing of Christ, c. 1578
- The Burial of the Count of Orgaz, 1586
- View of Toledo, 1596