Hendrik Willem Mesdag Palette 1

Palette Analysis

Hendrik Willem Mesdag works in the upper reaches of the value scale, creating an atmosphere of brightness and expansiveness. Heat pervades this palette; warm chromatic identities outweigh cool ones at almost every weight. All colours lean toward grey, building depth through value rather than colour punch. #5C382E at 3.1% is both the most chromatic and one of the largest colours in the palette - chroma as mass rather than as highlight. A value spread of 66 units gives the palette both depth and air - shadows are genuinely dark, lights genuinely light. In the context of Hendrik Willem Mesdag's full range of palettes, group 1 represents one movement in an ongoing chromatic dialogue.