The Little Street

The Little Street (1658) by Johannes Vermeer. Its palette is led by rich brown (#724934, 28%) and pale sand (#c4b9a3, 22%), with accents of bistre and parchment. Overall the canvas is light, moderately saturated and warm.

Color note

Vermeer used natural ultramarine, ground from lapis lazuli and one of the most expensive pigments of his day, far more freely than his contemporaries, even in shadows and underlayers. Cool ultramarine against warm lead-tin yellow is his signature pairing.

Palette

#724934 MG 159 rich brown 27.7% of canvas
#c4b9a3 MG 180 pale sand 22.0% of canvas
#7f6b53 MG 166 amber brown 17.2% of canvas
#251f19 MG 219 bistre 14.2% of canvas
#a3a299 MG 213 light grey 13.5% of canvas
#ebe0c9 MG 201 parchment 5.4% of canvas

Color families

Brown 78%, Black 7%, Gray 6%, White 5%, Orange 1%

Measurements

Lightness: 0.57
Contrast: 0.58
Vividness: 0.043
Warmth: +1.00
Complexity: 202 cells
Hue range: 0.32
Focus: 0.03

Composition

60% of the visual weight is in the right half, 56% in the lower half. Symmetry 0.09 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 23% 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: 1658
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 54.3 × 44.0 cm
Genre: cityscape
Collection: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

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