Rembrandt often used the pigment lead-tin yellow in highlights in his paintings.
Rembrandts Lead-tin yellow
Here is a detail of the jacket of lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburch. The tiny light-yellow blobs of paint of the embroidery are made with a thick, mayonnaise-like paint containing lead-tin yellow. Rembrandt often used the pigment lead-tin yellow in highlights. This macro X-ray fluorescence scan shows the element tin present in Van Ruytenburch’s sleeve. The light-yellow highlights correspond with the light areas in the tin map.
In the 17th century lead-tin yellow was manufactured by heating 3 parts lead oxide with 1 part tin oxide. Slightly lowering or raising the temperature produces different hues of yellow, varying from an orangey to a more lemon-yellow hue.
