Cubism & Early Abstraction · 1931

The Red Armchair

Pablo Picasso 1881–1973

Still in copyright: the image isn't shown, only the colors measured from it.

The Red Armchair (1931) by Pablo Picasso. Its palette is led by dark taupe (#493a36, 20%) and dark crimson sienna (#6c3744, 19%), with accents of purplish violet, light orange amber, pale golden yellow and ivory. Overall the canvas is light, vivid and warm.

Color note

Picasso's early periods are named after colors: the Blue Period (1901–04), which followed a close friend's suicide, and the warmer Rose Period (1904–06). In Analytic Cubism (1909–12) he and Braque cut color back to near-monochrome browns and greys to concentrate on form.

Palette

#493a36 MG 177 dark taupe 19.8% of canvas
#6c3744 MG 144 dark crimson sienna 18.6% of canvas
#1a7941 MG 066 lime green 15.8% of canvas
#866d9c MG 133 purplish violet 12.7% of canvas
#9854ad MG 116 crimson purple 11.0% of canvas
#d19a3f MG 032 light orange amber 9.6% of canvas
#f4ec6a MG 040 pale golden yellow 8.4% of canvas
#f2f4e8 MG 200 ivory 4.2% of canvas

Color families

Brown 24%, Purple 20%, Green 16%, Yellow 16%, Red 8%

Measurements

Lightness: 0.55
Contrast: 0.63
Vividness: 0.087
Warmth: +0.32
Complexity: 172 cells
Hue range: 0.69
Focus: 0.00

Composition

58% of the visual weight is in the left half, 67% in the upper half. Symmetry 0.00 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 40% of the canvas is calm space. Half of the detail sits in 24% of the canvas. Measured from the image, not a rule the painter followed.

Details

Date: 1931
Medium: Oil and Ripolin on panel
Size: 131 × 98 cm
Made in: Spain
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago