Ivan Nikitin sits in the centre of the value range, lending the palette a sense of even, sustained light. The palette achieves thermal balance - reds and blues, ochres and greens, each holding the other in check. Saturation is deliberately withheld - the beauty here lies in the near-monochromatic gradations rather than colour difference. 28.8% of the palette belongs to #2A2728, a concentration that makes it the unmistakable visual centre. The saturated accent, #68462B, registers at 3.4% - sparse enough to feel like a deliberate surprise. 80 units of value range underpin the palette's structural clarity: the eye always knows where light falls. Palette 1 sits within the larger chromatic argument that Ivan Nikitin's complete body of work advances.