Rembrandt’s “The Night Watch” reveals new secrets

The discovery helps to better understand Rembrandt’s working method. “This tells us that he added things to his paint to make it easier to paint with. Rembrandt often put his paint very thickly on the canvas to create a 3D effect. When using thick paint, you want the paint to move with you when you smear them on the canvas, but as soon as you stop you want the paint to stick the way you applied it. We have now found that Rembrandt pre-boiled the oil he made with a lead compound and that gives that lead formate,” says Professor Koen Janssens (UAntwerp) in “The world today” on Radio 1.

“He probably also had some knowledge of chemistry. The 17th century is a period in which physics and chemistry emerged. Scientists and artists could meet in so-called ‘learned societies’, where natural philosophy was practiced. It is not inconceivable that Rembrandt acquired knowledge of chemistry and materials here, which he applied when preparing his paints.”