C Major - Research on Harmony - Variation 1 — Acrylic on Linen Canvas by Arnaud Quercy

About This Artwork

This large-format acrylic painting translates the C Major triad into color through chromesthetic mapping, a method that assigns specific hues to musical notes based on the circle of fifths. The three notes of the chord — C, E, and G — become red, yellow, and red-orange, spread across the canvas in a geometric arrangement that mirrors how a voicing opens across a keyboard. As Variation 1 in the Research on Harmony series within the Synesthetic Explorations collection, this work marks the first study in an ongoing practice of converting harmonic structures into visual form.

Orange and salmon tones fill the upper half of the composition, creating a warm, expansive field that anchors the painting. Below and slightly left of center, a cluster of geometric shapes introduces darker values — deep russet, chocolate brown, and near-black — stacked and overlapping in angular forms. A sliver of pale golden yellow appears at the edges of this cluster, providing a sharp contrast against the surrounding warmth. Bright red-orange occupies the lower right in broad, flat planes, while a vertical band of tan and cream runs along the left edge. The transitions between color areas are clean and deliberate, with hard edges separating each geometric block. Acrylic on linen canvas at seventy-three by ninety-two centimeters gives the surface a matte solidity suited to these flat, confident color fields.

The large vertical format rewards viewing from a few steps back, where the color relationships read as a complete chord rather than individual shapes. The restricted palette — almost entirely within the orange, red-orange, and yellow-orange families — captures the bright, uncomplicated character of C Major. This piece is part of the Synesthetic Explorations collection, which translates harmonic relationships into visual form through direct, unadorned studies focused on the essential character of each chord.

The work includes certificate of authenticity number 20240718-0192 and bears the artist's signature at lower right. Created in France in 2024, cataloged as AQC0696.