North-facing room
#CBBCA5North light is cooler and softer, so the cream wall will look a little greyer and flatter. Its LRV of 61 still bounces enough light to keep a north-facing room from feeling dim.
17th-century painting · art-to-room palette
Vanitas Still Life Color Palette & Paint Colors
This palette comes from Jacques de Gheyn II's 1603 Vanitas Still Life, a painting in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is built on deep browns and one pale warm cream, so it suits rooms that want warmth, depth and a little drama.
Quick answer
Use the pale cream #E6C89D on the walls and the mid-tone tan #B99C76 on larger furniture. Keep the deep brown #43342A for textiles, #5D4231 for accents and #9B6146 for wood.
- Artist
- Jacques de Gheyn II
- Date
- 1603
- Movement
- 17th-century painting
- Collection
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Image license
- Public domain (CC0)
- Wall color LRV
- 61
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.
Deep espresso brown
Walnut brown
Neutral near-black
Warm camel tan
Rust clay brown
Light buttery cream
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
Deep espresso brown#43342A |
|
4 | One small textile |
Walnut brown#5D4231 |
|
6 | One bold piece |
Neutral near-black#2F2B26 |
|
3 | Small accents, art, accessories |
Warm camel tan#B99C76 |
|
35 | Bed, sofa, curtains |
Rust clay brown#9B6146 |
|
16 | Wood and frames |
Light buttery cream#E6C89D |
|
61 | Main walls |
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 light buttery 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.
South-facing room
#ECCFA4Strong south light warms the cream and brings out its yellow undertone. The wall will look brighter and creamier, and the browns will read richer.
Evening, warm lamps (2700K)
#C4A477Under warm evening bulbs, the cream leans golden and the browns deepen into a cozy, candlelit tone. This is the lighting where the palette looks most like its source.
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.
Wood takes Rust clay brown and the rug border takes Deep espresso brown in every combination.
Mood board
Details from the painting next to the colors and materials that carry them into a room.
Light buttery cream
Warm camel tan
Walnut brown
Save this palette
A card with the painting, all 6 colors and a room scheme. Pin it, or take it to the paint store.
Guides that use colors from this painting
More palettes like this
FAQ
Can I paint a whole room in the darkest color?
The darkest shades, #2F2B26 and #43342A, have LRVs of 2 and 4, so they absorb most light. In a small room they can feel closed in. Use them on one wall, on a door, or in textiles and rugs instead.
Which color should go on the walls?
Use the pale cream #E6C89D on the walls. At an LRV of 61 it is the only light color in the set, so it keeps the room from feeling heavy when the browns are used in furniture and fabric.
How do I check a paint match before buying?
The paint matches on this site are the closest commercial matches measured from the source colors, so they will not be exact. Paint a test swatch on your own wall and look at it in morning, midday and evening light before you commit.
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.