Solution to Chromolume Drawing #305

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Answer: UGLY SIMPLE

by Lillian McKinley

This puzzle is an homage to the 2018 Mystery Hunt puzzle Floor Drawing 305. That puzzle, written in the style of Sol Lewitt’s Wall Drawing 305, was a runaround puzzle using Sol Lewitt’s Bars of Color Within Squares, which is installed in MIT Building 6C.

The first thing to realize about this puzzle is that the images described are not Bars of Color; they are famous paintings. (The puzzle's title hints at this: “Chromolume #7” is a song in the musical Sunday in the Park with George, which is about Georges Seurat, who painted the fourth painting described, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. Seurat’s style is known as pointillism, which is appropriate for this puzzle.)

Following the same mechanic as the 2018 puzzle, you have to match a paragraph describing the locations of points and a paragraph describing how to draw lines on each painting. The drawing paragraphs are in alphabetical order, but the point paragraphs aren’t, which suggests the point paragraph order is important.

These are the paintings and paragraph pairs, in the order given in the top half, with points and lines drawn on each one:

The Birth of Venus - Botticelli, Sandro

Image of The Birth of Venus with four points overlaid, with lines drawing out a U

The first point is the lowest point where pink, gold, blue, and dark green regions meet. The second point is located approximately where several orange strands meet blue, pink, and beige regions. The third point is located at the triple point where a blue region meets beige and greenish brown regions below it. The fourth point is located at the point where two beige-black edges form a right angle on a shell.

Draw a nearly horizontal line between the first and fourth points. Draw a line from the second point to the second-closest point. Draw a line from the third point to the nearest end of the first line you drew.

Girl With A Pearl Earring - Vermeer, Johannes

Image of Girl With A Pearl Earring with five points overlaid, with lines drawing out a G

The first point is the leftmost black-white-bronze triple point at the collar. The second point is located at the center of the circular jewel near the first point. The third point is located at the leftmost blue-black-beige triple point. The fourth point is located at the rightmost point where two edges meet. The fifth point is located at the topmost blue-yellow-black triple point.

Draw a line from the first point to the rightmost point. Draw a line right from the second point to the last edge you reach in that direction. Draw a line from the third point through the face until you reach a black region and then end at another point. Draw a line from the fourth point along an edge until it meets a previously drawn line. Draw a semicircular arc where the fifth point is the midpoint, one end meets the nearest point, and the center of the circle would be in a blue region.

Impression, Sunrise - Monet, Claude

Image of Impression, Sunrise with three points overlaid, with lines drawing out a L

The first point is at the center of the sun. The second point is located at the leftmost point of the darkest boat. The third point is located approximately where various orange ripples come into proximity with various dark blue ripples.

Draw a line connecting the first point to the leftmost point. Draw a line connecting the second point to the only point which is lower than it.

A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte - Seurat, George

Image of A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte with four points overlaid, with lines drawing out a Y

The first point is the rightmost point where two curved edges border a black region. The second point is located at the leftmost corner of a red region whose top side is a semicircular arc opening downwards and whose bottom side is three semicircular arcs also opening downwards. The third point is located in the brown furry region with a light blue stripe. The fourth point is located at the quadruple point where shadowed red, blue, and yellow regions meet a sunny green region.

Draw a line from the first point to a point which is between two other points. Draw a line from the second point to the lower end of the previously drawn line. Draw a line from the third point to the nearest point.

The Starry Night - Van Gogh, Vincent

Image of The Starry Night with six points overlaid, with lines drawing out a S

The first point is the lowest point where a small yellow region is surrounded by many small, bright white regions. The second point is located at the rightmost point where two black lines are blue-blue edges and form a right angle. The third point is located at the prominent blue-dark blue-white triple point directly below the rightmost swirl. The fourth point is located at the midpoint of the missing edge of the yellow crescent. The fifth point is located at the point where two curved green-gray edges meet just to the left of a large black region. The sixth point is located at the tip of the black spire.

Draw a line from the first point to the nearest even-numbered point. Draw a line from the second point to the nearest point. Draw a line from the third point to the point located almost directly to the left of it. Draw a line from the fourth point to the farthest point for which this line will not pass through any previously drawn line. Draw a line from the fifth point back to the second point.

Rideau, Cruchon et Compotier - Cezanne, Paul

Image of Rideau, Cruchon et Compotier with five points overlaid, with lines drawing out a I

The first point is the triple point where an edible green region meets a white-brown edge. The second point is located at the leftmost triple point where half of an orange is seen from its place on a soft white region. The third point is located at the point where two gray-gray edges meet right above a near-circle on a jug. The fourth point is located at the triple point where a white region is to the left of a shadowed white region and a shadowed brown region. The fifth point is located at the topmost point where two green-orange edges meet.

Draw lines from the first and second points to the point that is between them. Draw a line from the third point to the point above the first point. Draw a line from the fourth point to the center of a previously drawn line.

Composition VIII - Kandinsky, Wassily

Image of Composition VIII with five points overlaid, with lines drawing out a M

The first point is where a vertical black line passes through the point where two off white-blue edges meet. The second point is located at the point where yellow and red semicircular arcs meet. The third point is located at the point where two red-pink edges meet. The fourth point is located at the leftmost brown-off white-black triple point. The fifth point is located within the region where a yellow triangle and grayish circle overlap.

Find the first point directly left of the third point. Draw a line from the first point to the nearest point. Draw lines from the second point to all of the points above it. Draw lines from the third point to any remaining unconnected points.

The Persistence of Memory - Dali, Salvador

Image of The Persistence of Memory with five points overlaid, with lines drawing out a P

The rightmost brown-pink-silver triple point is the first point. The second point is located at the brown-brown-brown triple point below a drooping silver region. The third point is located at the leftmost point where a brown branch protrudes into a yellow region. The fourth point is located at the leftmost point where the rocks are reflected in the water. The fifth point is located at the lowest point of the drooping gold region.

Draw a line from the first point upwards to the fourth point. Draw lines from the second point to the three points that are up, down, and right. Draw a line right from the third point until it meets the end of a previously drawn line.

Le Rêve - Picasso, Pablo

Image of Le Rêve with three points overlaid, with lines drawing out a L

The first point is the midpoint of a red-blue edge between clothing and upholstery, which connects yellow-red-blue and white-red-blue triple points. The second point is located at the leftmost blonde-red-white triple point directly below the top of the face. The third point is located at the lowest point where eight brown-orange edges nearly meet in the background, to the right of the chair.

Draw a line right from the first point through any other points it can pass through. Draw a line from the second point to the nearest odd-numbered point.

The Two Fridas - Kahlo, Frida

Image of The Two Fridas with six points overlaid, with lines drawing out a E

The first point is the second rightmost blue-yellow-gray triple point (above the right heart). The second point is located at the pale green-olive-brown triple point. The third point is located at the leftmost visible corner of the bench seat. The fourth point is located at the leftmost ear. The fifth point is the leftmost blue-olive-gray triple point. The sixth point is the white-dark green-brown triple point.

Draw a line from the first point to the only point which is higher than it. Draw a line from the second point to the sixth point. Draw two lines from the third point to the nearest odd-numbered point and nearest even-numbered point. Draw a line from the fourth point to whichever point that will make it the vertex of the largest angle.


We can see that the lines on each painting clearly form a letter (and that they are given in order of year painted, which can help with identification):

ArtworkArtistYearLetter
The Birth of VenusBotticelli, Sandro1485U
Girl With A Pearl EarringVermeer, Johannes1665G
Impression, SunriseMonet, Claude1872L
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande JatteSeurat, Georges1886Y
The Starry NightVan Gogh, Vincent1889S
Rideau, Cruchon et CompotierCezanne, Paul1894I
Composition VIIIKandinsky, Wassily1923M
The Persistence of MemoryDali, Salvador1931P
Le RêvePicasso, Pablo1932L
The Two FridasKahlo, Frida1939E

This spells out our answer, UGLY SIMPLE.

Author’s Notes

Around the time ideas were solicited for this round, I listened to the soundtrack of Sunday in the Park With George on a long drive. In stage productions of the musical, the characters in the painting come to life and walk out onto the stage, and I had the idea of a “runaround” where you walk around within (or even between) paintings. Eventually, that idea ended up becoming this one, based on one of my favorite puzzles from the 2018 Mystery Hunt. It’s possible to solve this puzzle with no knowledge of either the musical or the other puzzle, but I hope both homages contribute to solvers’ enjoyment.