Caravaggio's Palette - Blue Ridge Yellow Ocher Artist Oil Paint

Caravaggio's Palette

Through his innovative use of color and light, Caravaggio transformed the landscape of 17th-century painting. His legacy, marked by a distinctive palette and a profound understanding of human emotion, continues to inspire and captivate audiences, making him a pivotal figure in the history of Western art.

Although "chiaroscuro" was practiced long before the 17th century, Caravaggio made the technique definitive, darkening the shadows and transfixing the subject in a blinding shaft of light. He achieved this effect with a limited palette typical of 17th-century painters: iron oxide earth colors, a few mineral pigments, carbon or bone black, and verdigris. Earth pigments predominated, and brighter colors were always veiled.

Caravaggio's palette was a testament to his pioneering approach, comprising a relatively limited yet highly impactful range of colors. Central to his palette were earth tones, which were the bedrock of the...

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