Palette
A palette describes a surface where an artist arranges colors prior to their creative work; it is one of the most essential instruments of the visual arts. The history of palettes dates back to centuries ago, evolving from basic flat wooden boards into more enhanced custom-made pieces aimed at the artists’ preferences. The palette was crucial in color theory and composition. It is the indispensable object that stands for an artist’s creativity and the style of their choice.
Throughout Renaissance, various artists such as Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci used elaborate palettes for blending colors to create the more graphic and intricate designs within their masterpieces. These artists were instrumental in demonstrating how the choice and quality of colors together with the tones used on the palettes could define the emotions and feelings in the artworks.
In recent years, several artists such as Frida Kahlo and Pablo Picasso have altered their views of what a palette is while intentionally destructing color combinations and colors themselves. Their approach to the palette purposively defied logic and structure within modern art movements and influenced the cadre of contemporary artists to resort into free thinking and create more visual innovation in their art.
On the whole, an artist's palette captures their distinct approach to color and style, thus serving as an emblem of their artistic self-identity and vision. However, regardless of how one perceives their palette to be, whether minimalist or extravagant, it is an indispensable item for an artist seeking to express their thoughts visually, forming the aesthetic dialect of art through different genres and throughout history.
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