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

Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints Color Palette & Paint Colors

This palette is taken from Raphael's Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints, ca. 1504, oil and gold on wood, in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It mixes deep neutral grays and browns with one warm yellow and a red, so it suits rooms that need grounding and warmth.

Quick answer

Use the warm yellow #F8C373 on the main wall, where its LRV of 60 will bounce light around the room. Put the deep slate gray #70706F on the largest piece of furniture, and use the brown #7C4A22 for accents such as trim, a side table, or a lamp base. Bring in the red #B92817 through textiles like cushions or a rug.

Artist: Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi)
Date: ca. 1504
Movement: 15th-century Italian painting
Collection: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Image license: Public domain (CC0)
Wall color LRV: 60

Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints by Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi) — Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi), *Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints*, ca. 1504. 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.

charcoal stone

#4E4A48 · 36.7% · LRV 7

deep slate gray

#70706F · 24.9% · LRV 16

burnt sienna brown

#7C4A22 · 19.7% · LRV 9

honey butter yellow

#F8C373 · 13.4% · LRV 60

deep vermilion red

#B92817 · 3.2% · LRV 12

olive moss green

#4E6330 · 2.1% · LRV 11

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.

Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints reduced to its palette colors — The same scene in 6 flat colors.

Detail of the painting where charcoal stone is strongest — charcoal stone

Detail of the painting where deep slate gray is strongest — deep slate gray

Detail of the painting where burnt sienna brown is strongest — burnt sienna brown

Detail of the painting where honey butter yellow is strongest — honey butter yellow

Detail of the painting where deep vermilion red is strongest — deep vermilion red

Detail of the painting where olive moss green is strongest — olive moss 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
charcoal stone `#4E4A48`	Behr HDC-CL-14A Warm Onyx Near-identical Valspar 6011-1 Fired Earth Very close Farrow & Ball No. 255 Tanner's Brown Very close Sherwin-Williams SW 7020 Black Fox Close	7	Small accents, art, accessories
deep slate gray `#70706F`	Behr HDC-AC-17A Welded Iron Very close Valspar 4004-2B Ocean Storm Very close Sherwin-Williams SW 7019 Gauntlet Gray Close Farrow & Ball No. 26 Down Pipe Close	16	Bed, sofa, curtains
burnt sienna brown `#7C4A22`	Behr S250-7 Moroccan Spice Close Sherwin-Williams SW 9100 Umber Rust Similar Valspar 2010-6 Burnt Caramel Similar	9	One bold piece
honey butter yellow `#F8C373`	Valspar 3002-3C Peach Tea Near-identical Sherwin-Williams SW 6668 Sunrise Very close Behr HDC-MD-24 Luscious Lemon Very close Farrow & Ball No. 223 Babouche Similar	60	Main walls
deep vermilion red `#B92817`	Behr S-G-200 Glowing Firelight Very close Sherwin-Williams SW 6868 Real Red Similar Valspar 2011-5 Crimson Glow Similar Farrow & Ball No. 212 Blazer Similar	12	One small textile
olive moss green `#4E6330`	Behr S360-7 Down-to-earth Very close Sherwin-Williams SW 6433 Inverness Close Valspar 6009-8 Lime Twist Similar Farrow & Ball No. 298 Bancha Similar	11	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 honey butter yellow 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#D7B98A

In north light the yellow wall will look softer and a little cooler. It stays bright enough to keep the room open, but it may read less golden than the swatch.

South-facing room#FACB84

Strong south light will make the yellow wall look bright and warm, and it may appear more saturated than the swatch. Test a large sample first, since the light can push it toward a stronger tone during the day.

Evening, warm lamps (2700K)#CEA05F

Under warm evening bulbs the yellow will shift toward amber and feel richer. The deep grays and browns will look cozy and close to black, so keep them to furniture and accents rather than large areas.

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 deep vermilion red in every combination.

Mood board

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

honey butter yellow

deep slate gray

burnt sienna brown

Linen

Oiled oak

Lime plaster

Aged brass

Palette card for Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints

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

Dark Grey Paint Colors for Bedroom Dark grey · Bedroom

More palettes like this

Portrait of a Young Woman Lorenzo di Credi (Lorenzo d'Andrea d'Oderigo), ca. 1490–1500

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

Madonna and Child with the Donor, Pietro de' Lardi, Presented by Saint Nicholas Master G.Z. (possibly Michele dai Carri, Italian, Ferrara, active by 1405–died 1441 Ferrara), ca. 1420–30

FAQ

Can I use the yellow on every wall?

It works best on one main wall. The deep grays and browns in the palette need light surfaces nearby to balance them, so keep the other walls lighter or use the yellow only where it will get daylight.

How much of the red should I use?

Use the red in small amounts, such as cushions, a throw, or a rug. The palette gives it only a small share of the painting, so a little goes a long way in a room.

Which of these colors is hardest to use in a small room?

The deepest grays and browns can make a small room feel closed in. Use the charcoal stone and slate gray on one piece of furniture or a single accent wall, and pair them with the light yellow to keep the space open.

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.