Scientists say they have found the pigment that put the “Golden” within the Dutch Golden Age in Rembrandt’s work. New analysis into the paint Rembrandt used to characterize glistening embroidery particulars in “The Evening Watch” (1642) reveals proof of rarer arsenic sulfide mineral variants as an alternative of orpiment, the extra available pigment on the time.
The analysis workforce got here collectively from the Rijksmuseum and the College of Amsterdam in 2019 for Operation Evening Watch, an effort to protect Rembrandt’s most bold masterpiece for hundreds of years to return. The portray went by means of its final main restoration practically 50 years in the past following a slashing assault in 1975, and a much less rigorous one in 1990 after an acid assault solely managed to eat by means of the varnish. Nevertheless, Rembrandt’s authentic paint alternatives haven’t withstood the check of time, as evidenced by a virtually fully light rendering of a canine in addition to the darkish speckling on the face of 1 particular person.
The newest preservation efforts required varied scans and exams to establish the supplies Rembrandt employed and perceive their chemical reactions with one another and exterior components. To their shock final 12 months, the scientists discerned that he had ready the canvas with a lead-based substance earlier than making use of a quartz-clay floor layer — a testomony to the artist’s knack for experimentation.
The Operation Evening Watch workforce additionally deployed varied non-invasive analytical imaging strategies and paint pattern exams to demystify Rembrandt’s signature gold detailing. They discovered that the Dutch Grasp included “pararealgar and semi-amorphous pararealgar” — yellow and reddish-orange arsenic sulfide mineral variants that he combined with lead-tin yellow and vermillion to realize the glinting, reflective hue.
The workforce initially believed that Rembrandt had used the extra traditionally current mineral orpiment as a consequence of its inclusion in two of his later works: “The Jewish Bride” (1665) and “The Man in a Crimson Cap” (c. 1665). Upon figuring out the presence of pararealgar and semi-amorphous pararealgar, the researchers hypothesized that each substances appeared in “The Evening Watch” on account of degradation over time. Nevertheless, supplemental literary analysis into the provision, manufacturing, and use of each mineral pigments within the Seventeenth century yielded an intensive paper path of historic paperwork.
“Our analysis concerned analyzing Seventeenth-century commerce information, apothecary pharmacopeias, tariffs, and up to date writings on metallurgy, painters’ manuals, and alchemical literature, together with Danish historian Ole Worm’s Museum Wormianum,” wrote Nouchka de Keyser, one in all Operation Evening Watch’s researchers, in an e mail to Hyperallergic.
Increasing on the work of students equivalent to Carolin Rötter, Guenter Grundmann, and Mark Richter, De Keyser specified that the workforce labored to find out how Rembrandt acquired the pigments, how they have been produced and imported, and the way a lot they could have price, amongst different questions.
“We additionally studied a Seventeenth-century collector’s cupboard from the Rijksmuseum, which incorporates varied forms of arsenic sulfides, hoping to match them with the pigments present in Rembrandt’s portray,” De Keyser continued. “This deep dive into the historic sources actually allowed us to piece collectively a extra complete image of those pigments available in the market and the way Rembrandt ended up utilizing them.”
