The Full Spectrum Palette

A discussion of Robert Henri’s Full Spectrum Palette

I will soon release my book on “The Color Investigations of Robert Henri.” This video discusses Henri’s foundational palette upon which he built his further investigations into color and palette designs such as The Intensity Palettes, The Triangular Palette, The Aluminum Palette, The Palettes of Denman Ross, The Permanent Palette and the Late Palettes. This Full Spectrum Palette informed Henri’s understanding of the analogical connection of the light spectrum finding a correspondence within the subtractive color spectrum (paint) through the use of regular intervals.

This Full Spectrum Palette originally devised by H.G. Maratta, is built on a foundation of 3 primaries R-Y-B. All other colors, including the secondaries and the tertiaries are derived from these 3 specific primaries. My Primaries in this video are:

  • Red- Permanent Madder Deep (Rembrandt) + Cadmium Red Vermilion (Old Holland)
  • Yellow- Cadmium Lemon Yellow (Old Holland) + Raw Sienna (Old Holland) + Viridian Green Light (Old Holland)
  • Blue- Indanthrene Blue (Winsor & Newton)

These are the colors I have mixed in order to create my palette. One may choose other colors that fit into their specific color choices for their painting. The question becomes- are my choices a balanced selection of the primaries? In this video I explain how to create a harmonious and unified palette design.

In the early chapters of my book, I give a detailed account of this palette and Henri’s use of this design in order to create specific set-palettes for each new painting.

Enjoy! And subscribe to stay informed about the release of my book coming soon!

Author: Judith Reeve

For nearly 30 years I've developed my painting practice in the studio, building on what I leaned from my student days at the Lyme Academy of Fine Art. Along with my daily journey creating images which I write about here on this blog, I am also currently writing a book on the color practice of Robert Henri.

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