Washington's Color Palette
- Feb 14, 2021
- 1 min read
Actually, this is the color palette of Rhode Island artist Gilbert Charles Stuart (1755-1828).
Living through the American Revolution, then receiving the commission to paint the portrait of our first President summoned nothing but the highest standards of vision and excellence.
Stuart's oil paint palette:
Antwerp blue= Prussian Blue Oil Paint
Yellow ocher=Yellow Ocher Oil Paint
Vermilion=Vermilion Oil Paint
Madder lake=Alizarin Crimson Oil Paint
Burnt umber=Burnt Umber Oil Paint
Ivory black=Bone Black Oil Paint
White lead=Lead White Oil Paint
Asphaltum and/or Van Dyke brown=Cassel Earth Paint
Here's a link to another well written essay by George O'Hanlon for Natural Pigments explaining Mr. Stuart's paints & pigments during this amazing time in American history. Gilbert Stuart's Palette
Happy President's Day!
Photo Credit: George Washington, 24" x29" oil on canvas, 1797, housed in the Clark Art Institute
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