David once spent 600 franc to order 92 color palettes of different shades from an art supply merchant in Paris, each palette transitioning from light to dark, from pure white to deep black.
This was not due to some peculiar obsession or compulsion of the artist.
The advantage is that the artist can choose different palettes based on the painting's base color and the complex textures and colors of the background and characters.
Beginners use white palettes the most because the canvas is white, and a white palette most easily highlights the true color of the paints on it.
But the base color of oil paintings is not always white.
An oil painting with a black background, the paint you mix on a white palette, and the colors presented after applying it to a dark background.
Because the contrast between light and dark is different, the perception also differs subtly.
Based on this principle, if conditions allow.
