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Color Dominance
Monet’s painting of a sunrise is dominated by a cool green/grey. This cool color occupies around three quarters of the painting and is relieved, in the upper sky, by a pale warm orange, intensifying as it approaches the rising sun. The sun is the direct complementary color to the surrounding sky, creating a shimmering intensity. By allowing the green/grey to dominate, the red/orange of the sun is injected with maximum intensity.
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![Claude Monet [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4897a5_9d78fed320544a3bb590bb61a6ae7daf~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_721,h_498,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/4897a5_9d78fed320544a3bb590bb61a6ae7daf~mv2.jpg)
Claude Monet (1840-1926) “Impression Sunrise” (1872)
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