Vision After the Sermon

Paul Gauguin 1848–1903

Vision After the Sermon (1888) by Paul Gauguin. Its palette is led by scarlet red (#b53c14, 22%) and soot (#151214, 16%), with accents of dark reddish brown, rich amber ochre, grey and light amber. Overall the canvas is mid-toned, vivid and warm.

Color note

Gauguin painted in flat areas of bold, unnatural color, often ringed with dark outlines, choosing color for feeling and symbol rather than description.

Palette

#b53c14 MG 019 scarlet red 22.2% of canvas
#543829 MG 155 dark reddish brown 18.2% of canvas
#151214 MG 223 soot 15.9% of canvas
#cec9b2 MG 171 bone 14.1% of canvas
#b8af98 MG 172 oatmeal 13.0% of canvas
#816e37 MG 188 rich amber ochre 7.4% of canvas
#78827c MG 215 grey 6.4% of canvas
#c18a24 MG 033 light amber 2.8% of canvas

Color families

Brown 43%, Red 20%, Black 15%, Gray 7%, White 4%

Measurements

Lightness: 0.53
Contrast: 0.67
Vividness: 0.062
Warmth: +0.97
Complexity: 208 cells
Hue range: 0.35
Focus: 0.17

Composition

55% of the visual weight is in the right half, 51% in the lower half. Symmetry 0.13 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 16% 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

Date: 1888
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 72.2 × 91.0 cm
Genre: religious art
Collection: National Galleries Scotland, City of Edinburgh

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More by Paul Gauguin

The Yellow Christ, 1889
Tahitian Women on the Beach, 1890
Manaò tupapaú, 1892
When Will You Marry?, 1892
Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?, c. 1897