15th-century Italian painting · art-to-room palette

Portrait of a Man Color Palette & Paint Colors

This palette comes from Fra Bartolomeo's Portrait of a Man, shortly after 1497. It pairs a sage green with warm cream, gold and a deep red, and it suits a dining room or a living room.

Quick answer

Paint the walls cream #EAD0A4, use sage #98A890 for main pieces, gold #B6851F for textiles, red #A31D09 for accents and #B0904D for wood.

Artist: Fra Bartolomeo (Bartolomeo di Paolo del Fattorino)
Date: shortly after 1497
Movement: 15th-century Italian painting
Collection: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Image license: Public domain (CC0)
Wall color LRV: 65

Portrait of a Man by Fra Bartolomeo (Bartolomeo di Paolo del Fattorino) — Fra Bartolomeo (Bartolomeo di Paolo del Fattorino), *Portrait of a Man*, shortly after 1497. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, open access. The bar shows each color's measured share of the canvas.

The 6 colors in this painting

Measured from the image and ordered by how much of the canvas they cover. LRV is how much light a color reflects, from 0 for black to 100 for white.

Soft Black

#11100A · 35.9% · LRV 1

Soft Sage Green

#98A890 · 18.5% · LRV 37

Warm Cream

#EAD0A4 · 18.3% · LRV 65

Muted Gold

#B0904D · 16% · LRV 30

Deep Cardinal Red

#A31D09 · 6.8% · LRV 9

Mustard Gold

#B6851F · 4.4% · LRV 27

Where each color lives in the painting

Left, every pixel of the canvas snapped to its nearest palette color. Right, the detail where each color is strongest.

Portrait of a Man reduced to its palette colors — The same scene in 6 flat colors.

Detail of the painting where Soft Black is strongest — Soft Black

Detail of the painting where Soft Sage Green is strongest — Soft Sage Green

Detail of the painting where Warm Cream is strongest — Warm Cream

Detail of the painting where Muted Gold is strongest — Muted Gold

Detail of the painting where Deep Cardinal Red is strongest — Deep Cardinal Red

Detail of the painting where Mustard Gold is strongest — Mustard Gold

Closest paint colors

The nearest color from each brand. “Near-identical” and “Very close” are hard to tell apart on a wall; with “Similar”, compare a sample with the painting. Brands with nothing close are left out.

Painting color	Closest paints	LRV	Use it for
Soft Black `#11100A`	Sherwin-Williams SW 6258 Tricorn Black Nearest available	1	Small accents, art, accessories
Soft Sage Green `#98A890`	Behr PPU11-05 Pesto Green Very close Farrow & Ball No. 81 Breakfast Room Green Very close Valspar 5006-4A Irish Paddock Very close Sherwin-Williams SW 7742 Agate Green Close	37	Bed, sofa, curtains
Warm Cream `#EAD0A4`	Valspar 3005-6B Sweet Treats Near-identical Sherwin-Williams SW 2857 Peace Yellow Very close Behr HDC-CT-01 Amber Moon Very close Farrow & Ball No. 68 Dorset Cream Very close	65	Main walls
Muted Gold `#B0904D`	Valspar 3007-5A Corduroy Very close Behr S300-5 Spiced Mustard Very close Sherwin-Williams SW 6396 Different Gold Close Farrow & Ball No. 66 India Yellow Similar	30	Small accents, art, accessories
Deep Cardinal Red `#A31D09`	Behr S-H-210 New Penny Close Sherwin-Williams SW 7599 Brick Paver Similar	9	One bold piece
Mustard Gold `#B6851F`	Behr 320D-6 Lion Mane Very close Sherwin-Williams SW 6692 Auric Close Valspar 3009-5 Pumpkin Squash Similar Farrow & Ball No. 66 India Yellow Similar	27	One small textile

Paint names belong to their brands. Matches are measured from screen colors and are approximate; Light & Pigment is not affiliated with any paint brand.

How warm cream looks in your light

The wall color shifted for the light it will live in. Check the version closest to your room before buying a sample.

North-facing room#CEC1A9

In north light the cream #EAD0A4 at LRV 65 stays warm, and the sage looks calm and slightly cool.

South-facing room#EFD5AA

In strong south light the cream is very bright, and the sage looks lighter and fresher.

Evening, warm lamps (2700K)#C6A87B

Under warm evening bulbs the gold and red glow, and the sage turns softer and grayer.

Try the palette in a room

Pick which painting color goes on the walls, the big furniture and the bold piece. Floors, shadows and light follow your choices.

Walls

Bed, sofa, island

Bold piece

Wood takes a warm mid-brown and the rug border takes Mustard Gold in every combination.

Mood board

Details from the painting next to the colors and materials that carry them into a room.

Warm Cream

Soft Sage Green

Deep Cardinal Red

Linen

Oiled oak

Lime plaster

Aged brass

Save this palette

A card with the painting, all 6 colors and a room scheme. Pin it, or take it to the paint store.

Save to Pinterest Download card

More palettes like this

Portrait of a Young Man Cosmè Tura (Cosimo di Domenico di Bonaventura), 1470s

Saint Nicholas Providing Dowries Bicci di Lorenzo, 1433–35

The Massacre of the Innocents Sano di Pietro (Ansano di Pietro di Mencio), ca. 1470

FAQ

Does sage go with cream?

Yes. The sage #98A890 and the cream #EAD0A4 take up 18.5 and 18.3 percent of the painting, so they are its main light colors.

How much red should I use?

#A31D09 at LRV 9 is a strong red. It covers 6.8 percent of the painting, so use it in one or two items.

Which gold should I use?

#B6851F is the deeper and more saturated gold, and #B0904D is the softer, more brown one.

Image: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Public domain (CC0). Palette, posterized image, details and room views generated by Light & Pigment from that image. Colors look different on screen than on a wall, so always test a sample.