19th-century French painting · art-to-room palette

Seascape Color Palette & Paint Colors

Six colors measured from Seascape by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, with their share of the canvas, light reflectance, a room scheme and how the wall color shifts in north, south and evening light.

Quick answer

Put Light Blue on most walls, use Deep Blue for the bed, sofa or curtains, and keep Soft Blue to one bold piece. A warm mid-brown suits floors, wood and frames, and Dusky Blue works best in a single textile.

Artist: Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Date: 1879
Movement: 19th-century French painting
Collection: The Art Institute of Chicago
Image license: Public domain (CC0)
Wall color LRV: 56

Seascape by Pierre-Auguste Renoir — Pierre-Auguste Renoir, *Seascape*, 1879. The Art Institute of Chicago, 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.

Light Blue

#B6C8D2 · 31.3% · LRV 56

Soft Blue

#6181A8 · 20.7% · LRV 21

Deep Blue

#8BA4BD · 20.5% · LRV 36

Dusky Blue

#355987 · 11.6% · LRV 10

Quiet Blue

#59818E · 8.9% · LRV 20

Soft Green

#8C9E8B · 6.9% · LRV 32

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.

Seascape reduced to its palette colors — The same scene in 6 flat colors.

Detail of the painting where Light Blue is strongest — Light Blue

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

Detail of the painting where Deep Blue is strongest — Deep Blue

Detail of the painting where Dusky Blue is strongest — Dusky Blue

Detail of the painting where Quiet Blue is strongest — Quiet Blue

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

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
Light Blue `#B6C8D2`	Behr HDC-CT-16A English Hollyhock Near-identical Sherwin-Williams SW 9145 Sleepy Hollow Near-identical Valspar 4008-3B Lighthouse Shadows Very close Farrow & Ball No. 27 Parma Gray Close	56	Main walls
Soft Blue `#6181A8`	Valspar 4007-8B Wellspring Very close Sherwin-Williams SW 9065 Perfect Periwinkle Very close Behr PPU15-06 Neon Blue Very close Farrow & Ball No. 237 Cook's Blue Similar	21	One bold piece
Deep Blue `#8BA4BD`	Behr N540-4 Silhouette Near-identical Sherwin-Williams SW 6528 Cosmos Very close Valspar 4004-5C Lovebirds Very close Farrow & Ball No. 89 Lulworth Blue Similar	36	Bed, sofa, curtains
Dusky Blue `#355987`	Behr PPU15-03 Dark Cobalt Blue Very close Sherwin-Williams SW 6967 Frank Blue Close Valspar 4008-8C Deep Space Close Farrow & Ball No. 281 Stiffkey Blue Similar	10	One small textile
Quiet Blue `#59818E`	Valspar 5001-6B Sky Space Near-identical Behr N490-5 Charcoal Blue Very close Sherwin-Williams SW 7614 St. Bart's Very close Farrow & Ball No. 299 De Nimes Similar	20	Small accents, art, accessories
Soft Green `#8C9E8B`	Behr N360-4 Battleship Gray Very close Valspar 5004-4A Field of Pines Close Farrow & Ball No. 81 Breakfast Room Green Close Sherwin-Williams SW 9129 Jade Dragon Close	32	Small accents, art, accessories

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 blue 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#ADBCC7

Cool, even daylight pulls colors toward grey. Warm wall tones keep a north-facing room from feeling cold.

South-facing room#C6CFCE

Strong warm sun pushes light colors toward cream by midday. If it reads too yellow, step down to a cooler version.

Evening, warm lamps (2700K)#A9A496

Under warm 2700K bulbs colors turn honey-toned and dark colors read almost black. Matte finishes keep the look soft.

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 Dusky Blue in every combination.

Mood board

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

Light Blue

Deep Blue

Soft Blue

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

Guides that use colors from this painting

Beach Paint Colors for Living Room Coastal style

Cool Bedroom Colors: Soft Blues and Grays for Calm Walls Cool · Bedroom

Calming Colors for Living Room Walls: Soft Yellow, Blue and Green Calming · Living room

More palettes like this

The Garden of the Tuileries on a Winter Afternoon Camille Pissarro, 1899

Diana Narcisse-Virgile Diaz de la Peña, 1849

Woman and Child at the Well Camille Pissarro, 1882

FAQ

What colors are in Seascape?

Measured from the image, the painting's six main colors are Light Blue (#B6C8D2, 31.3% of the canvas), Soft Blue (#6181A8, 20.7% of the canvas), Deep Blue (#8BA4BD, 20.5% of the canvas), Dusky Blue (#355987, 11.6% of the canvas), Quiet Blue (#59818E, 8.9% of the canvas), Soft Green (#8C9E8B, 6.9% of the canvas).

Does this palette work in a small room?

Use it with care. The lightest wall color in this painting has an LRV of about 56, so in a small room pair it with plenty of daylight or a lighter white on the ceiling.

Can I use this image on my own mood board?

The Art Institute of Chicago releases this image as public domain (cc0), so it can be reused freely.

Image: The Art Institute of Chicago, 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.