Ab Major - Variations 12 — Acrylic on Paper by Arnaud Quercy

About This Artwork

This painting is a study in first inversion chord voicing. Arnaud Quercy translates Ab Major into visual form through his chromesthetic mapping system, using the circle of fifths to assign specific colors to each musical pitch. The work belongs to the Synesthetic Explorations collection and investigates how harmonic weight shifts when the third of a chord — rather than the root — sits at the bass.

The composition moves vertically from dark to light, following the register distribution of a spread voicing across six octaves. Dark brown anchors the lower zone, corresponding to the bass note D3 in the chromesthetic system. Blue-violet tones fill substantial areas of the central register, while violet and dusty mauve occupy the middle ground. Warm orange and burlywood tones appear throughout the upper-middle area, transitioning into steel gray where Ab5 surfaces — the tonic, appearing neutralized and pale at altitude. A large luminous arc sweeps across the upper portion of the canvas, carrying yellow-orange warmth toward the highest register. Pale yellow and red-violet appear as accent notes, present but not structurally dominant, consistent with their role as non-chord color tones. The acrylic medium on paper allows clean geometric edges and precise color placement across the rectangular forms.

The work measures ten and a half by fifteen centimeters and weighs approximately one hundred grams. Created on November twenty-third, two thousand twenty-five in France, it carries certificate of authenticity number 20251123-0069. The artist's signature appears at bottom right. It is held in a private collection in Germany. This piece is Variation 12 within the Research on Harmony series of the Synesthetic Explorations collection.