The pigments in The Night Watch
Rembrandts Lead-tin yellow
Here you see 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.
The most important blue pigment in Rembrandt’s Night Watch
The pigment smalt is the most important blue pigment in Rembrandt’s paintings. It is also used in The Night Watch.
The lead white in The Night Watch
The pigment lead white is omnipresent in Rembrandt’s colour palette, used on its own or mixed with other pigments to obtain various hues. It was used extensively in The Night Watch.
'Red lake’ pigments
‘Red lake’ pigments were an important part of Rembrandt's palette. He used them in complex mixtures to create purple tints or to enliven dark colours. The pigment is present for example in the dark red shadows of Willem van Ruytenburch's boot.