Self-Portrait as Bacchus

Self-Portrait as Bacchus (1595) by Caravaggio. Its palette is led by soot (#100707, 51%) and dark taupe (#48372c, 17%), with accents of light orange amber and pale muted golden cream. Overall the canvas is dark, muted and warm.

Color note

Caravaggio set brightly lit figures against near-black backgrounds, the dramatic style called tenebrism. His palette was simple, earth colors, lead white, black and vermilion: the drama comes from light, not hue.

Palette

#100707 MG 223 soot 50.6% of canvas
#48372c MG 177 dark taupe 16.7% of canvas
#785b44 MG 167 brown 10.1% of canvas
#a38361 MG 165 amber brown 9.4% of canvas
#d2a879 MG 032 light orange amber 7.8% of canvas
#f2d5a4 MG 202 pale muted golden cream 5.5% of canvas

Color families

Black 52%, Brown 32%, Orange 6%, Yellow 5%, White 4%

Measurements

Lightness: 0.34
Contrast: 0.74
Vividness: 0.026
Warmth: +1.00
Complexity: 181 cells
Hue range: 0.17
Focus: 0.27

Composition

69% of the visual weight is in the left half, 61% in the lower half. Symmetry 0.04 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 32% of the canvas is calm space. Half of the detail sits in 25% of the canvas. Measured from the image, not a rule the painter followed.

Details

Date: 1595
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 67.0 × 53.0 cm
Genre: self-portrait
Collection: Galleria Borghese, Rome

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More by Caravaggio

Medusa, 1597
Judith Beheading Holofernes, 1599
Supper at Emmaus, 1601
The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, 1608
The Calling of Saint Matthew, 1609