The Zorn Palette

The Zorn Palette is a limited colour palette inspired by Swedish painter Anders Zorn. Learn how to create harmonious paintings using just four colours—Cadmium Red, Yellow Ochre, Ivory Black, and Titanium White—and discover the beauty of using a reduced palette in your practice.

The many shades of the Zorn Palette

For artists seeking to experiment with this timeless palette, our Zorn Palette Guide provides techniques, tips, and examples to help you master painting with a reduced colour palette.

Left to Right: Yellow Ochre Pure, Yellow Ochre: Cadmium Red (2:1), Yellow Ochre: Cadmium Red (1:1), Yellow Ochre: Cadmium Red (1:2), Cadmium Red Pure. With increasing amounts of Titanium White added to each mix as you move down the chart.

Left to Right: Yellow Ochre Pure, Yellow Ochre: Cadmium Red (2:1), Yellow Ochre: Cadmium Red (1:1), Yellow Ochre: Cadmium Red (1:2), Cadmium Red Pure. With increasing amounts of Titanium White added to each mix as you move down the chart.

Left to Right: Yellow Ochre and a trace of Black with decreasing amounts of white added as you move down the chart, Yellow Ochre: Cadmium Red (2:1) with a trace of Black, Yellow Ochre: Cadmium Red (1:1) with a trace of Black, Yellow Ochre: Cadmium Red (1:2) with a trace of Black Cadmium Red with a trace of Black.

The top row has the mix with 95% white added, as you move down the chart the amount of white added to each mix is decreased. The bottom row shows each colour mix without white added.

Left to Right: Cadmium Red with a trace of Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Red: Black (2:1) with a trace of Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Red: Black (1:1) with a trace of Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Red: Black (1:2) with a trace of Yellow Ochre, Black with a trace of Yellow Ochre

The top row shows each colour mix with 95% Titanium White added, as you move down the chart the amount of Titanium White added decreases. The bottom row shows the mixes without any Titanium White.

A variety of materials can be used to explore the Zorn palette, offering versatility for different styles and mediums. From high quality oil and acrylic paints in the four signature colours to brushes, palettes, and surfaces, our curated selection equips you with everything needed to embrace this classic approach to colour.