E Major - Variation 7 — Watercolor on Paper by Arnaud Quercy

About This Artwork

This watercolor explores the visual translation of an E Major chord through chromesthetic perception, where musical pitches correspond to specific colors. Part of the Synesthetic Explorations collection, the work investigates how harmonic relationships in music can be expressed through color relationships on paper. The composition presents the E Major triad and its extensions as a spread voicing that opens across the pictorial space.

Silver and light gray tones dominate the composition, creating a luminous foundation that occupies substantial areas of the paper. Yellow ochre appears throughout the surface in various intensities, while blue-violet passages provide harmonic contrast through lightsteelblue and steel gray areas. Small accent notes of yellow-green, violet, orange, and red-orange create precise color punctuation against the broader tonal areas. The watercolor technique allows these colors to flow and blend naturally while maintaining distinct chromatic territories.

The work measures 14.8 × 21.0 cm on paper, signed at bottom right, with certificate of authenticity number 20250125-0022. The chromesthetic mapping translates specific pitches into corresponding color families, with the E Major chord structure becoming visible through the spatial arrangement of yellows, blues, and accent tones. This variation represents one exploration within a broader investigation of how musical harmony can be made tangible through visual means.