Sleeping Venus

Titian 1490–1576

Sleeping Venus (16th century) by Titian. Its palette is led by light sand (#b8a481, 26%) and dark umber (#3f341b, 15%), with accents of rich orange ochre, black and dark rich sienna. Overall the canvas is mid-toned, moderately saturated and warm.

Color note

Titian built his colors in many layers of glaze over a colored ground, the Venetian way of putting color before drawing. The copper-red hair of his sitters gave English the color name “Titian”.

Palette

#b8a481 MG 181 light sand 26.2% of canvas
#80683f MG 178 rich orange ochre 16.1% of canvas
#3f341b MG 186 dark umber 15.3% of canvas
#28210f MG 219 bistre 13.3% of canvas
#090504 MG 224 black 12.7% of canvas
#d8c092 MG 180 pale sand 12.2% of canvas
#651717 MG 148 dark rich sienna 4.2% of canvas

Color families

Brown 66%, Black 20%, Yellow 11%, White 2%, Green 1%

Measurements

Lightness: 0.48
Contrast: 0.71
Vividness: 0.045
Warmth: +1.00
Complexity: 205 cells
Hue range: 0.31
Focus: 0.09

Composition

54% of the visual weight is in the left half, 53% in the lower half. Symmetry 0.16 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 15% of the canvas is calm space. Half of the detail sits in 29% of the canvas. Measured from the image, not a rule the painter followed.

Details

Date: 16th century
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 108.5 × 175.0 cm
Genre: mythological painting
Collection: Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Dresden

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More by Titian

Sacred and Profane Love, c. 1514
Assumption of the Virgin, c. 1517
Venus of Urbino, 1538
Equestrian Portrait of Charles V, 1548