Italian Renaissance · 15th century
San Marco Altarpiece
San Marco Altarpiece (15th century) by Fra Angelico. Its palette is led by light orange (#b3865c, 24%) and graphite (#3b3135, 17%), with accents of rich brown, scarlet red, soot and pale sand. Overall the canvas is mid-toned, vivid and warm.
Color reading
Brown and yellow cover about two-thirds of the canvas. Its most vivid color, pale amber #F5BB43, takes up 6% of it.
Palette
- #b3865c MG 029 light orange 24.3% of canvas
- #734a32 MG 159 rich brown 22.4% of canvas
- #3b3135 MG 218 graphite 16.8% of canvas
- #c05b42 MG 017 scarlet red 9.8% of canvas
- #1d1517 MG 223 soot 8.5% of canvas
- #c6b6a1 MG 180 pale sand 7.9% of canvas
- #f5bb43 MG 035 pale amber 5.5% of canvas
- #f4d6a7 MG 202 pale muted golden cream 4.9% of canvas
Color families
Brown 52%, Yellow 14%, Orange 11%, Black 8%, Red 5%
Measurements
Composition
50% of the visual weight is in the right half, 55% in the lower half. Symmetry 0.76 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 1% of the canvas is calm space. Half of the detail sits in 40% of the canvas. Measured from the image, not a rule the painter followed.
Details
Share
Download the pin · Save to Pinterest
More by Fra Angelico
- Annunciation, 1425
- Adoration of the Magi, 1430