Ploughing in the Nivernais

Ploughing in the Nivernais (1849) by Rosa Bonheur. Its palette is led by pewter (#8f8c9b, 32%) and umber (#6e603d, 23%), with accents of bistre, light orange amber and pale muted golden cream. Overall the canvas is light, moderately saturated and warm.

Color reading

Brown and gray cover about two-thirds of the canvas. Its most vivid color, light orange amber #C89F6B, takes up just 5% of it.

Palette

#8f8c9b MG 214 pewter 31.7% of canvas
#6e603d MG 184 umber 23.1% of canvas
#4d4a2b MG 194 dark golden olive 17.4% of canvas
#737993 MG 096 muted azure blue 15.2% of canvas
#2a2915 MG 219 bistre 6.1% of canvas
#c89f6b MG 032 light orange amber 4.9% of canvas
#f6dbab MG 202 pale muted golden cream 1.7% of canvas

Color families

Brown 39%, Gray 27%, Blue 21%, Green 7%, Yellow 3%

Measurements

Lightness: 0.55
Contrast: 0.40
Vividness: 0.041
Warmth: +0.51
Complexity: 79 cells
Hue range: 0.54
Focus: 0.07

Composition

52% of the visual weight is in the left half, 75% in the lower half. Symmetry 0.59 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 43% of the canvas is calm space. Half of the detail sits in 24% of the canvas. Measured from the image, not a rule the painter followed.

Details

Date: 1849
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 133.0 × 260.0 cm
Genre: French Realism
Collection: Musée d'Orsay, Paris

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More by Rosa Bonheur

The Horse Fair, c. 1853
Haymaking in the Auvergne, 1855