Baroque · 1634
The Adoration of the Golden Calf
The Adoration of the Golden Calf (1634) by Nicolas Poussin. Its palette is led by dark umber (#372e20, 31%) and dark golden umber (#4b4230, 19%), with accents of putty, pale tan, soot and light muted blue. Overall the canvas is mid-toned, moderately saturated and warm.
Color note
Poussin was the model for the other side of the French Academy's great quarrel around 1700: the “Poussinistes” held that drawing matters more than color.
Palette
- #372e20 MG 186 dark umber 31.5% of canvas
- #4b4230 MG 185 dark golden umber 18.7% of canvas
- #6b6f70 MG 209 cool grey 14.5% of canvas
- #404a5a MG 098 dark muted azure blue 12.4% of canvas
- #9a8b7e MG 173 putty 9.2% of canvas
- #d2b191 MG 163 pale tan 6.5% of canvas
- #0f0f13 MG 223 soot 6.2% of canvas
- #82aad2 MG 094 light muted blue 1.1% of canvas
Color families
Brown 48%, Black 19%, Gray 19%, Blue 10%, Orange 2%
Measurements
Composition
53% of the visual weight is in the left half, 50% in the lower half. Symmetry 0.29 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 9% of the canvas is calm space. Half of the detail sits in 31% of the canvas. Measured from the image, not a rule the painter followed.
Details
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More by Nicolas Poussin
- Massacre of the Innocents, 1620s
- The Flight into Egypt, 1658