There are similarities in some respects to working with a monochromatic palette and the using of the “mother color” principle.

Monochromatic: “One color”; a painting done in a monochromatic principle is composed of different values of the same hue mixed only with black and white.

Mother Color Principle: In this approach you select one color for your dominant hue and then mix it with all the other colors on your palette. All the hues are different yet related and harmonious.

As you can see, both styles are dependent upon the use of a single hue. With the mother color principle, there is more variety, however, both techniques can give the appearance of all over color unity.

The overall warm, monochrome bright palette of Marcel Duchamp’s, Nude Descending a Staircase, ranges from yellow ocher, to dark, almost black tones. The colors are translucent applied.