S C
IE N
T IF
IC H
IG H
LI G
H T
S C
U LT
U R
A L
H E
R IT
A G
E ,
A R
C H
A E
O LO
G Y
A N
D P
A L
A E
O N
T O
LO G
Y
1 4 9 I H I G H L I G H T S 2 0 2 3
PRINCIPAL PUBLICATION AND AUTHORS
Lead(II) Formate in Rembrandt s Night Watch: Detection and Distribution from the Macro- to the Micro-scale, V. Gonzalez (a,b), I. Fazlic (b,c), M. Cotte (c,d), F. Vanmeert (e,f), A. Gestels (e,g), S. De Meyer (e), F. Broers (b,h,i), J. Hermans (b,h), A. van Loon (b), K. Janssens (e), P. Noble (b), K. Keune (b,h), Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 62(16), e202216478 (2023); https:/doi.org/10.1002/anie.202216478 (a) Université Paris-Saclay, ENS Paris-Saclay, CNRS, PPSM (France) (b) Rijksmuseum Conservation & Science (The Netherlands) (c) ESRF (d) Laboratoire d Archéologie Moléculaire et Structurale (LAMS), Sorbonne Université, CNRS (France) (e) AXIS Antwerp X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy laboratory, University of Antwerp (Belgium) (f) Paintings Laboratory, Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA) (Belgium) (g) InViLab UAntwerp Industrial Vision Lab, University of Antwerp (Belgium) (h) Van t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands) (i) Inorganic Chemistry & Catalysis, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science & Institute for Sustainable and Circular Chemistry, Utrecht University (The Netherlands)
REFERENCES
[1] E. Kočí et al., Dalton Trans. 48, 12531-12540 (2019). [2] M. Cotte et al., Stud. Conserv. 62, 2-23 (2017).
further valuable clues about the possible use of lead- based oil paint by Rembrandt, but also on the potential impact of oil-based varnishes from past conservation treatments. In addition to providing information on
Fig. 121: SR-μ-XRPD crystalline phase distribution on a sample of a droplet of linseed oil cooked with PbO, and laid on glass slide, with additional PbO particles deposited. The red rectangle indicates the area scanned via SR-μ-XRPD, around the PbO particles. In the bottom right corner, the RGB composite map displays a zoom around these particles (highlighted by the dotted green rectangle on lead formate
map), with lead hydroxyformate (red), lead soaps (green) and lead II formate (blue).
Rembrandt s painting techniques, this multiscale investigation reveals new insights into the reactivity of historical pigments, and thus on how best to preserve important paintings.
