Rembrandt's Night Watch reveals lead-based priming technique

Researchers involved in Operation Night Watch have discovered that Rembrandt used a lead-based substance in the lower layers of his masterpiece The Night Watch (1642). This finding is unprecedented in the artist's oeuvre and among his contemporaries. The lead was applied with semicircular brushstrokes during the preparatory phase, after the canvas was treated and stretched. Two hypotheses explain this choice: either Rembrandt needed a cheaper alternative suitable for large-scale works, or he aimed to protect the canvas from the humid conditions of the Kloveniersdoelen hall in Amsterdam, where the painting was originally installed. The discovery was made through advanced analysis of a paint sample using fluorescence and X-rays, revealing lead beneath the ground layer of earth and clay. The results were cross-referenced with a lead distribution map of the entire painting. Rembrandt, born in Leiden in 1606 and died in Amsterdam in 1669, was known for experimenting with techniques, but this lead-based imprimitura is a first. The Night Watch is celebrated for its pictorial rendering and powerful light, distinguishing it among 17th-century Dutch civic guard group portraits.