What are the colours on this artist's palette?
Detail of palette
The palette which Flicke holds (denoting his profession) has pigments shown upon it that were suited to portrait painting: these have been identified as crimson lake (red), azurite (blue), a dark brown, and mixed shades of pink and lead white for the flesh paint.
Detail of Strangwish's left eye
Gerlach Flicke painted other portraits during his time in England, for example of Queen Mary I, Sir Peter Carew and Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk. One of his most accomplished portraits depicting Archbishop Cranmer was painted in 1546. This portrait also includes many of the pigments which appear on Flicke's palette in his self-portrait.
| NPG 6353 (Flicke) | NPG 535 (Cranmer) | ||
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Azurite: |
Blue background |
Green of the carpet and blue of the sky |
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Crimson lake: |
Costumes |
Red of the carpet |
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Brown: |
Hair and flesh |
Deep shadows of nostrils, upper eye lids and the woven texture of the carpet as well as the book |
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Lead white: |
Background and flesh |
Flesh areas and white collar |
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Lead white & red mixture: |
Flesh |
Flesh areas |
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