How can I get the color of the last figure in Matplotlib?

In Matplotlib, you can retrieve the color of any plotted line using the get_color() method. This is particularly useful when you want to identify the automatically assigned colors or when working with multiple plots in the same figure.

Basic Example

Let's start with a simple example to understand how get_color() works ?

import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

# Set figure size
plt.rcParams["figure.figsize"] = [7.50, 3.50]
plt.rcParams["figure.autolayout"] = True

# Create data points
x = np.arange(10)

# Plot multiple lines
p = plt.plot(x, x, x, x ** 2, x, x ** 3)

# Add legend
plt.legend([p[0], p[1], p[2]], ["$y=x$", "$y=x^2$", "$y=x^3$"])

# Get colors of each plot
print("Color of the first plot:", p[0].get_color())
print("Color of the second plot:", p[1].get_color())
print("Color of the third plot:", p[2].get_color())

plt.show()

The output of the above code is ?

Color of the first plot: #1f77b4
Color of the second plot: #ff7f0e
Color of the third plot: #2ca02c

Getting the Last Plot Color Specifically

To get only the color of the last figure/plot, access the last element from the plot list ?

import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

x = np.arange(5)

# Multiple plots
plots = plt.plot(x, x, x, x**2, x, x**3)

# Get the color of the last plot only
last_plot_color = plots[-1].get_color()
print("Color of the last plot:", last_plot_color)

plt.show()

The output of the above code is ?

Color of the last plot: #2ca02c

Alternative Method Using gca()

You can also retrieve the last plot's color using the current axes ?

import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

x = np.arange(5)

plt.plot(x, x, label='Linear')
plt.plot(x, x**2, label='Quadratic') 
plt.plot(x, x**3, label='Cubic')

# Get the last line from current axes
ax = plt.gca()
last_line = ax.get_lines()[-1]
last_color = last_line.get_color()

print("Last plot color:", last_color)
plt.legend()
plt.show()

The output of the above code is ?

Last plot color: #2ca02c

Key Points

• plot() returns a list of Line2D objects when plotting multiple lines
• Use [-1] index to access the last plot from the returned list
• get_color() returns the color as a hex string (e.g., '#1f77b4')
• gca().get_lines()[-1] provides an alternative way to access the last line

Conclusion

Use get_color() method on the last element of the plot list to retrieve the color of the last figure. This method works with both single and multiple plot scenarios in Matplotlib.