Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Palette 18

Palette Analysis

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner sits in the centre of the value range, lending the palette a sense of even, sustained light. Blues and teal-greys govern the palette, lending it an aquatic or atmospheric quality. Colours are neither washed out nor blazing; they occupy the productive middle ground of the chroma scale. The most saturated colour, #293BCA, covers 15.3% of the surface: too much to call an accent, too strong to ignore. The full value range is 73 units: broad enough to build convincing three-dimensional form. High luminosity and cool temperature suggest the plein-air condition: unfiltered daylight and open sky. In the context of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's full range of palettes, group 18 represents one movement in an ongoing chromatic dialogue.