PAINTINGS Annelies van Loon*
Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis
The Hague, The Netherlands
vanloon.a@mauritshuis.nl,
anneliesvanloon@hotmail.com
Petria Noble
Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis
The Hague, The Netherlands
noble.p@mauritshuis.nl
Jaap J. Boon
FOM Institute AMOLF
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
boon@amolf.nl
*Author for correspondence
Keywords: surface deposits, whiten-
ing, smalt, lead white, metal soaps,
degradation, oil paintings, chemical
analysis
Abstract
This paper describes the identification of a
whitish insoluble surface crust that covers
most of the dark areas in Rembrandt’s Homer
(1663) in the collection of the Mauritshuis,
and the consequences of its presence for the
interpretation and treatment of the paint-
ing. Analysis demonstrated that lead and
potassium from the smalt-rich paint and the
lead white-containing upper ground have
migrated to the surface, possibly in the form
of soaps. The deposits are considered to have
undergone further reactions with atmospher-
ic compounds to form insoluble complex salt
mixtures rich in lead, potassium and sulphur.
Recent identifications of comparable surface
crusts in other Old Master paintings suggest
that lead potassium sulphate is a common
degradation product in oil paints that can
have different origins.
Résumé
Cet article décrit l’identification d’une croûte
blanchâtre insoluble qui couvre en surface la
majeure partie des zones sombres du tableau
Homère (1663) de Rembrandt, dans la collec-
tion du Mauritshuis, et des conséquences de
sa présence pour l’interprétation et le traite-
ment du tableau. Des analyses ont montré
que le plomb et le potassium contenus dans
la peinture à forte teneur en smalt et dans la
couche supérieure de la préparation à base
de blanc de plomb, ont migré vers la surface,
peut-être sous la forme de savons. Les dépôts
auraient alors réagi avec des composants at-
mosphériques pour former des mélanges de
sels complexes et insolubles, riches en plomb,
en potassium et en soufre. L’identification ré-
cente de croûtes en surface comparables sur
White hazes
and surface crusts
in Rembrandt’s Homer
and related
paintings
Introduction
The formation of surface layers and crusts on glass, metal and stone
objects, as well as wall paintings, has been thoroughly researched. Similar
deposits have been found to form on the surface of traditional oil paintings,
but these have only more recently been the subject of advanced study.
The interpretation of these crusts can be complex. Depending on the
components and the chemical environment in the paint, often more than
one degradation process is involved, resulting in a great variety of reaction
products. A good understanding of the composition and origin of the crust
is essential for conservation treatment, in order to know whether the layer
is original and whether it can safely be removed.
The recent treatment in 2004–2006 formed the context for in-depth research
of the complex crust formation on a late Rembrandt painting, Homer (1663),
in the collection of the Mauritshuis in The Hague (Figure 1).1 The results
of this research will be described and placed in context, in addition to the
consequences this had for the treatment of the painting. The composition
of the crust was analysed with the help of light microscopy, scanning
electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy
analysis (SEM-EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR),
Raman and direct temperature resolved mass spectrometry (DTMS). The
research demonstrated a clear relationship between the crust formation and
the materials in the painting. The light parts of the painting such as the
face and the thickly textured yellow highlight on the shoulder (containing
lead white and lead-tin yellow) are relatively well preserved, while the
dark parts of the painting, in which a large quantity of smalt is present,
are for the most part covered with a whitish insoluble crust. The question
remains to be answered as to what extent the extreme conditions to which
the painting has been exposed in the past and possibly its treatment history
may have triggered or exacerbated the crust formation. It is notable that
Aristotle with a Bust of Homer (New York, The Metropolitan Museum
of Art), painted ten years earlier, in 1653, also exhibits crust formation
in the dark areas, as well as other late Rembrandt paintings, such as the
Trip portraits (London, National Gallery), dating from about 1661, and the
Lucretia, 1664 (Washington, National Gallery of Art). The crust formation
on the Homer will be compared with that on other late Rembrandt paintings
and also with other paintings by 17th-century artists where identical
1

PAINTINGS
d’autres tableaux de grand maîtres anciens
suggère que le sulfate de plomb et de potas-
sium est un produit de dégradation courant
dans des peintures à l’huile d’origine diffé-
rente.
Resumen
Este artículo describe la identificación de una
costra blanquecina superficial insoluble que
cubre la mayoría de las zonas oscuras de la
obra Homero (1663) de Rembrandt, de la co-
lección del museo Mauritshuis, y cómo afecta
esto a su interpretación y tratamiento. Los es-
tudios demostraron que el plomo y el potasio
de la pintura rica en esmalte y de la base de
preparación hecha con blanco de plomo ha-
bían migrado a la superficie, posiblemente en
forma de jabones. Se cree que los depósitos
han sufrido otras reacciones con compuestos
atmosféricos para formar mezclas complejas
de sales insolubles ricas en plomo, potasio
y azufre. Recientemente se han identificado
costras superficiales comparables en obras
de antiguos maestros que sugieren que el
sulfato de potasio y plomo es un producto de
degradación común de pinturas al óleo cuyo
origen puede variar.
Figure 1
Rembrandt van Rijn, Homer, 1663, oil on
canvas (lined), Royal Picture Gallery Maurit-
shuis (MH584), The Hague
White hazes
and surface crusts
in Rembrandt’s Homer
and related
paintings
degradation products have been identified and comparable processes seem
to or may have taken place.
Surface crusts on traditional
oil paintings – a review
Recent research has demonstrated the formation of surface crusts on
degraded smalt paints that show similarities with those on degraded historic
glass (Spring et al. 2005). Smalt is a blue pigment that consists of finely
ground cobalt glass. The crusts are the result of depletion of potassium
from the discoloured smalt and its subsequent migration, probably in the
form of soaps, to the surface, where it reacts with anionic sources from the
environment to form complex salts, such as sulphates, carbonates and/or
oxalates. The presence of calcium salts makes these crusts insoluble.
In a recent in-depth study of crust formation on dark, binding-medium rich
17th-century oil paints, three types of surface layers were distinguished
(van Loon 2008). In a number of cases, degraded calcium carbonate-rich
glazes, probably deteriorated organic lakes, applied on top of the dark paints
to create modelling or visual effects, were found to be responsible for the
whitened surface appearance. These glazes are part of the original paint
build-up. In other examples, the white surface crusts were found to be the
result of fatty acid migration in the oil paint together with saponification
and migration processes of lead white, present in an upper or underlying
paint layer. Similar to potassium in smalt paints, the lead migrates to the
surface, probably as carboxylates/soaps, and crystallises or reacts with
components from the paint or the atmosphere to form new mineral phases:
lead carbonate, lead sulphate or lead chloride. Comparable deposits of free
fatty (palmitic, stearic and azelaic acids) and lead soaps (lead palmitate and
stearate) are frequently found on modern oil and alkyd paintings (Ordonez
and Twilley 1997, Skaliks 1999). The last category of crusts comprises the
complex lead-potassium-calcium-sulphur-rich crusts, which were found
in paints containing both lead white and smalt, or another potassium-
containing pigment or paint component. This group also includes the crust
on the Homer, which will be further discussed below.
Rembrandt’s Homer (1663)
Description of condition
This painting depicting the blind Homer dictating his verses was commissioned
by the Sicilian collector Don Antonio Ruffo. Originally, the painting was
much larger, including two scribes at the lower right (Noble 2009). The
painting was severely damaged, most likely during the earthquake of
1783, when a fire broke out destroying the palace of the Ruffo family in
Messina. Shortly after, the picture may have been restored for the first
time, as indicated from the presence of the gauze-like support fabric in
between the original canvas and the lining canvas.2 The present glue-lining
probably dates from shortly before 1900, when it was treated in Berlin by
the German restorer, Alois Hauser.
2
 White hazes
and surface crusts
PAINTINGS in Rembrandt’s Homer
and related
paintings

The lower section of the painting is in poor condition as a great deal of

paint has been lost and what remains is darkened and deformed. This is
probably the result of extended exposure to heat from the fire. Furthermore,
a rather thick, insoluble whitish deposit or crust covers most of the dark
areas in the painting, including the dark background, the major part of
Homer’s garment and his cap, to the extent that much of the original
contrast and colour are now greatly diminished (Figure 2).

Experimental

The study of paint cross-sections with light microscopy alone often gives
limited information, or can lead to misinterpretation. Therefore, a combination
of analytical techniques is necessary for complete characterisation. Samples
from different areas in the painting were taken before and during treatment
and prepared as paint cross-sections for light microscopy, specular reflection
FTIR imaging, Raman microscopy, and SEM-EDX studies (Table 1).
Additional analysis of a scraping of the white crust was carried out using
single-point FTIR transmission spectroscopy. The binding medium of the
Figure 2 paint and ground layers were also analysed using DTMS.3
Micro-detail of the crust formation, black
brushstroke in garment Table 1
Rembrandt, Homer (1663). List of samples analysed

Sample area Paint build-up Analysis

Dark garment 6. black paint: bone black, (smalt) LM
lower middle 5. brown paint: smalt, bone black, yellow lake, red earth, FTIR imaging
black brushstroke dispersed lead SEM
MH 584x04 4. intermediate varnish
3. translucent dark brown sketch: Kassel earth, red earth,
silicates, lakes
2. second ground: lead white (saponified), chalk, earth pigment
(umber), black
1. first ground: chalk, earth pigment (umber)
Black line in cap 2. black paint: bone black, smalt, yellow lake, red earth, LM
MH 584x05 dispersed lead FTIR imaging
1. second ground: lead white (saponified), chalk, earth pigment, Raman
black SEM
Cap 3. translucent orangey paint: smalt, red earth, dispersed lead LM
MH 584x06 (bone black) SEM
2. dark brown undermodelling: smalt, bone black, red earth,
dispersed lead
1. second ground: lead white (saponified), chalk, earth pigment,
black
Dark garment 5. dark brown paint: smalt, bone black, red earth, dispersed lead LM
lower left 4. intermediate varnish SEM
MH 584x09 3. reddish brown undermodelling: umber, red earth, bone
black, lead white/dispersed lead, yellow lake
2. second ground: lead white (saponified), chalk, earth pigment,
black
1. first ground: chalk, earth pigment
Dark garment 5. paint LM
fire-damaged 4. undermodelling SEM
MH 584x23 3. intermediate varnish
2. black sketch
1. second ground: lead white (saponified), chalk, earth pigment,
black

3
 White hazes
and surface crusts
PAINTINGS in Rembrandt’s Homer
and related
paintings

Sample area Paint build-up Analysis

Left hand 4. thin layer: smalt-rich LM
MH 584x35 3. reddish paint: red earth, bone black, red lake, organic brown SEM
(Kassel earth?), dispersed lead
2. dark brown undermodelling: bone black, earth pigment,
dispersed lead, lake?
1. second ground: lead white (saponified), chalk, earth pigment,
black
Left sleeve 3. translucent orange-brown paint: red lake, organic brown LM
fire-damaged (Kassel earth?), red earth, smalt, bone black, dispersed lead SEM
MH 584x51 2. intermediate varnish
1. second ground: lead white (saponified), chalk, earth pigment,
black
Left sleeve 2. paint: smalt, bone black, red earth, lakes?, organic brown LM
Fire-damaged (Kassel earth?), dispersed lead Raman
MH 584x56 1. second ground: lead white (saponified), chalk, earth pigment, SEM
black
Dark garment 6. black paint: bone black, smalt, yellow lake, red earth, LM
lower left dispersed lead SEM
MH 584x65 5. intermediate varnish
4. reddish undermodelling: red lake, carbon black/organic
brown?, red earth, dispersed lead, bone black
3. black sketch: bone black, red earth, lake?, (smalt)
2. second ground: lead white (saponified), chalk, earth pigment,
black
1. first ground: chalk, earth pigment

Paint build-up and composition

A cross-section from a lower section of the garment, from a black brushstroke,

which now appears degraded and greyed (Figure 2), reveals the complete
layer build-up (Figures 3 and 4). The preparatory layers consist of a double
ground: a thick orangey lower ground (1) containing chalk with some
additions of earth pigment, followed by a greyish brown upper ground
(2) comprising lead white with a little chalk, earth and black pigment. On
top of the ground, a thin translucent brown layer (3) containing Kassel
earth and red earth is visible, which is interpreted as the sketch layer.
Separated by a thin fluorescent intermediate varnish (4), the thick first
modelling layer of the drapery (5), rich in smalt, lakes, bone black and
fine particles of red earth, was applied.4 On top of this layer is a black
layer (6) containing bone black, which corresponds to the final black
brushstroke covered by the white crust (7) that exhibits a light-greyish
fluorescence in UV light.

Cross-sections from other whitened areas in the painting reveal surface

Figure 3
Paint cross-section (584_x04) from black crusts on top of dark translucent paint layers that consist of mixtures of
brushstroke in garment showing the varying amounts of bone black, lakes and earth pigments, in addition to
complete layer build-up (bright field;
photographed at a magnification of 200x)
large amounts of smalt (Table 1).

Figure 4
Identification of the crust
Same paint cross-section as Figure 3
(ultraviolet; photographed at a
magnification of 500x)
Based on light microscopy alone, the crust was first interpreted as varnish or
residual substrate from a lake pigment, but the SEM electron-backscattered
images show deposits of fine powdery, strongly scattering particles
concentrated at and near the paint surface (Figure 5). EDX detected the
4

Figure 5
SEM backscattered-electron image showing
the fine powdery, highly scattering deposits
of lead-potassium-sulphate at the surface
and an embedded dirt particle
(sample 584_x56)
Figure 6
SEM backscattered-electron image of a
white highlight on sleeve showing well-
defined, intact lead white particles
(sample 584_x68)
Figure 7
SEM backscattered-electron image of the
upper ground showing saponified lead
white (sample 584_x05)
White hazes
and surface crusts
in Rembrandt’s Homer
and related
paintings
elements lead, potassium, sulphur and calcium in the crust in all cases.
Some of the crusts incorporate aluminium-silicate particles that are likely
trapped dirt particles.
Analysis of the crust with FTIR and Raman spectroscopy demonstrated
a complex mixture of several mineral phases: sulphates, carbonates,
carboxylates and oxalates.5 The strong absorption bands in the 1200–1050 cm-1
region visible in the FTIR transmission spectrum can be attributed to S-O
stretching vibrations of the sulphate group ν(SO42-) (Derrick et al. 1999).
In addition, the FTIR spectrum indicates some carbonate salts among the
components present in the crust. The bands at c. 1390 cm-1 ν(CO32-) and
c. 680 cm-1 δ(CO32-) are indicative of lead carbonate, whereas the band
at c. 1429 cm-1 can be ascribed to calcium (and potassium?) carbonate.
Furthermore, the band present at c.  1560 cm-1 can be assigned to the
asymmetric stretch vibration of potassium soaps νa(COO). Calcium oxalates
also contribute to the FTIR spectrum of the white crust with absorption bands
at c.1637 cm-1 νa(COO), c. 1320 cm-1 νs(COO), and c. 780 cm-1 δ(OCO),
of which the sharp peak at c.  1320 cm-1 is the most characteristic for
calcium oxalate (Cariata et al. 2000). Specular reflection FTIR imaging
of the cross-sections also show the presence of oxalate bands at 1637 and
1320 cm-1 in the crust. The concentration of calcium detected by EDX,
however, is relatively low compared to lead and potassium, indicating that
calcium oxalate is only present as minor element in the crust.
The Raman spectra reveal a small, sharp peak at 982 cm-1 in the crust, which
lies in between lead sulphate (anglesite) PbSO4 and potassium sulphate
K2SO4 that exhibit strong bands at respectively 979 cm -1 and 983/4 cm-1
(Burgio and Clark 2001). This suggests the formation of a composite salt,
a lead-potassium-sulphate, rather than simple lead sulphate or potassium
sulphate salts. Calcium sulphate would have shown a band at a higher
wavenumber, at 1009 cm-1.
Paint dynamics
The identification of lead-potassium-sulphate as the main component in the
crust is surprising and raises questions about its origin. The mechanism of
the crust formation can in part be extracted from the analytical data. 6 The
backscatter images reveal that the lead white in the upper ground no longer
has the particle morphology and distribution characteristic of 17th-century
stack process lead white, but appears dissolved and transformed into lead
soaps as a result of reaction with free fatty acids from the oil. Figures 6
and 7 compare a white highlight from Homer’s right sleeve, where the
lead white is intact, and the upper ground where the lead white appears
as grey diffuse areas as a result of having reacted away. The presence of
lead soaps in the upper ground was confirmed by DTMS (mass peaks at
m/z 348-350 typical of lead azelate soaps) and FTIR imaging (band at
c. 1520 cm-1 characteristic of the lead carboxylate group).
SEM-EDX gives indication that the lead soaps do not stay in place, but
easily diffuse into the upper paint layer(s), where they migrate towards the
5

PAINTINGS
Figure 8
SEM backscattered-electron image showing
horizontal lead-rich bands (see arrow) and
many small dispersed highly scattering
lead-rich particles throughout the dark
paint (sample MH 584_X35)
White hazes
and surface crusts
in Rembrandt’s Homer
and related
paintings
paint surface. Small, dispersed lead-rich particles are detected throughout
the dark paint, as well as horizontal lead-rich bands, which are interpreted
as migration fronts (Figure 8). These are clearly not associated with a lead-
containing pigment. Furthermore, the amount of lead is considered too
excessive to be from an added drier. DTMS analysis of isolated samples
of the dark paint identifies large amounts of fatty acid components and
lead, as well as some lead azelate, which supports the presence of lead
soaps and a medium-rich environment.
The source of potassium is presumably the smalt, since in all samples
analysed this pigment is completely discoloured. This discolouration
process is associated with leaching of potassium from the smalt particles.
The potassium subsequently reacts with free fatty acids from the oil to
form highly mobile potassium soaps. The EDX map of potassium shows
that it has migrated to the surface, probably in the form of soaps. Small
amounts of potassium soaps were identified in the crust by FTIR (see
above), while the majority has mineralised, together with the lead soaps,
into sulphates. The sulphur is thought to originate from the atmosphere.
Sulphates form thermodynamically stable species. The insoluble character
of the crust is related to the presence of lead, since potassium sulphates
alone are water soluble.
Influence of the painting technique
The affected areas of the painting show similarities in pigment composition
and in the extensive use of smalt, mixed with red/yellow lake pigments,
bone black and earth pigments. The smalt used in such large quantities
gives texture and bulk to the paint. This pigment mixture is considered
characteristic of Rembrandt’s late style that is typified by his predilection
for broad brushstrokes and thick, translucent paint.7 The presence of a
lead white-containing upper ground layer is another crucial factor for crust
formation. The excess of free fatty acids required for the soap formation
is probably supplied by the thick underlying chalk-rich ground and/or the
binding medium-rich dark upper paint layer(s). Therefore, the reason for
the severe degradation of the dark areas is thought to predominantly be due
to the composition of the translucent dark paint layers and the presence/
saponification of lead white in the upper ground layer.
Influence of the environmental and treatment history
Environmental conditions and previous restoration treatments are considered
to have exacerbated the degradation process, since it is known that the
saponification of lead white and the leaching of potassium from the smalt
are promoted by high relative humidity and elevated temperature. It is
very likely that the migration processes in the paint were facilitated by
exposure to heat from the fire, as well as that possibly incurred from past
lining(s) (Boon et al. 2007, van Loon 2008). Furthermore, it is known that
this painting, as is the case with most 17th-century paintings, has been
exposed to a repetitive cycle of varnish removal using organic solvents.
6
 White hazes
and surface crusts
PAINTINGS in Rembrandt’s Homer
and related
paintings

Consequences for interpretation and treatment

The white surface crust and the discolouration of certain pigments have
altered the overall tonality of Homer. Certainly the dark areas must have
been richer and more glowing in tone. The identification of the crust also
had important consequences for treatment. Since the crust is not an original
part of the paint build-up, it could ethically be removed or reduced, however,
the inorganic nature of the crust containing sulphate, carbonate and oxalate
lead and calcium species makes it highly insoluble. Furthermore, the
SEM studies demonstrated that the crust is so intimately bound with the
paint surface that its removal was not possible since this would damage
the original paint layer (Figure 5). The final stages of cleaning of Homer
proceeded under the stereomicroscope, where it was possible to reduce
the amount of imbibed varnish in the crust, thereby reducing the degree of
whitening. Saturation of the crust with a low molecular weight, synthetic
varnish (Regalrez 1094) rendered it more transparent.

Comparison with similar crusts on other paintings

The identification of lead-potassium-sulphate deposits on the surface of

Old Master paintings is more common than was first thought. Moreover,
it is known that similar deposits form on the surface of historic glass and
ceramic objects (Sterpenich 2002). More recently, similar degradation
products have been found by the authors in other 17th-century paintings
(Table 2). Although the crusts have different origins, it seems that the
thermodynamic stability of the lead-potassium-sulphate association somehow

Table 2
Other occurrences of lead-potassium-sulphate deposits

Painting Affected areas Analysis

Rembrandt van Rijn Dark paints containing red lakes, earth pigments, LM
Simeon’s Song of Praise carbon-based black SEM
c. 1631 oil on oak panel (the panel is prepared with a chalk ground followed
Mauritshuis (MH145) by a lead white-containing imprimatura)
The Hague
Painted wooden ceilings Blue sky paints containing smalt and lead white LM
Hunting Scenes with Birds and Skies SEM
1660–1662 oil on wood
Trippenhuis
Amsterdam
Philips Wouwerman Blue sky paint with a smalt/lead white underlayer LM
The Hay Wagon and an ultramarine/lead white surface paint SEM
c. 1650 oil on oak panel
Mauritshuis (MH218)
The Hague
Jacob Jordaens Blue sky paint containing smalt and lead white LM
The Tribute Money FTIR
c. 1623 oil on canvas Raman
Statens Museum (KMS3198) SEM
Copenhagen
Johannes Vermeer Ground layer containing lead white; lead white LM
The Art of Painting paints of the floor; cracks FTIR
1665–1666 oil on canvas SEM
Kunsthistorisches Museum (GG9128) DTMS
Vienna

7
 White hazes
and surface crusts
PAINTINGS in Rembrandt’s Homer
and related
paintings

favours the formation. In most cases, blue sky paints consisting of lead
white and smalt are affected. In the painted ceiling in the Trippenhuis
in Amsterdam, a thin surface layer rich in lead, potassium and sulphur
has formed on top of the sky paint (van Loon 2008). In The Hay Wagon
by Philips Wouwerman (The Hague, Mauritshuis), a surface crust has
not formed but instead tiny localised yellow spots/ craters due to the
formation of potassium and lead soaps in the smalt/lead white underpaint
of the sky that cause subsequent loss of the overlying ultramarine layer. 8
In The Tribute Money by Jacob Jordaens (Copenhagen, Statens Museum)
whitish lumps (up to 100 µm) that consist of lead potassium sulphates
cover the surface of the sky (Boon et al. 2009). In Simeon’s Song of Praise
(Mauritshuis, The Hague), an early Rembrandt painting, a white haze is
visible in several dark areas in the painting. Here, the potassium is thought
to originate from pigment sources other than smalt: lakes (precipitated
with alum) and earth pigments (Noble and van Loon 2008). In the Art
of Painting by Vermeer (Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum), chunks of
lead-potassium-sulphate (up to 30 µm) have been detected in the lead
white-containing ground; in this case, the potassium sulphate is thought to
originate from the alum that was used as ingredient in the lining adhesive
(Boon and Oberthaler 2010).

Interestingly, crust formations observed on the other late-Rembrandt

paintings – the Aristotle with a Bust of Homer, the Trip portraits and the
Lucretia – also seem to relate to the construction of their dark translucent
paints, particularly in the extensive use of smalt mixed with red/yellow
lake pigments (Plesters 1980, Bomford et al. 2006, Berrie 1985/2009). 9

Conclusion

The formation of a whitish surface crust that drastically alters the tonality
of Rembrandt’s Homer is the result of migration of lead and potassium
in the paint – most likely as soaps – to the surface, where they interact
with the atmosphere to form new stable mineral phases. Lead-potassium-
sulphate was identified as main component in the crust. The reason for the
severe degradation of the dark areas primarily lies with the saponification
of lead white in the upper ground and the composition of the translucent
dark paint layers containing large amounts of smalt mixed with bone
black, lakes and earth pigments. Environmental conditions and possibly
past treatment are considered to have exacerbated the deterioration. This
new information has important consequences for the interpretation and
treatment of the painting. Interestingly, lead-potassium-sulphates have
recently been found as degradation products in other Old Master paintings,
demonstrating that this type of degradation is more common than was
previously assumed.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the following persons for their contributions
to the research: Edwin Verweij and Ruth Jongsma (Trippenhuis, Amsterdam);

8
 White hazes
and surface crusts
PAINTINGS in Rembrandt’s Homer
and related
paintings

Oleg Karuvits (Conservation intern 2009–2010, Mauritshuis, The Hague);

Jerre van de Horst (FOM-AMOLF, Amsterdam); Silvia Centeno (The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York); Barbara Berrie (National
Gallery of Art, Washington). The research took place as part of the Open
Laboratory agreement (2002–2007) between the FOM Institute AMOLF
and the Mauritshuis.

Notes
1
The treatment was carried out in 2004–20066 by Petria Noble in the Conservation studio
of the Mauritshuis.
2
The gauze-like intermediate support fabric is visible in the X-ray. It is adhered to the
original canvas with a mixture of chalk and red earth, bound in oil thickened with wax
(DTMS analysis March 2006, FOM-AMOLF).
3
See van Loon 2008, 124–25 for the experimental details. The authors thank Jerre van
de Horst, FOM-AMOLF, for his assistance with the DTMS analysis and Silvia Centeno,
The Metropolitan Museum New York, for her kind help with Raman microscopy.
4
The intermediate varnish was probably applied when the painting was sent in unfinished
state in 1661 to Messina for Ruffo’s approval. This layer is seen in many of the cross-
sections from this painting.
5
Spectra shown in van Loon 2008, 158–159.
6
The role of SEM backscatter imaging in visualising the various steps in the reaction
mechanism is described in van Loon, Noble and Boon (submitted).
7
The use of smalt in Rembrandt’s paintings is further addressed in a forthcoming article
that was presented at the ASTR meeting in Vienna 23–24 September 2010.
8
The small yellow spots in the sky paint were examined by Annelies van Loon together
with Oleg Karuvits, intern in the Mauritshuis, who observed the yellow spots in the sky
during his recent treatment of the painting.
9
Grateful thanks to Barabara Berrie, Melanie Gifford and Sarah Fisher (National Gallery
of Art, Washington) and Dorothy Mahon (The Metropolitan Museum, New York) for
generously making their examination notes on these paintings available.

References

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National Gallery of Art, Washington.
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Art in the Making, 166–177. London: The National Gallery.
Boon, J.J., F. Hoogland, and K. Keune. 2007. Chemical processes in aged
oil paints affecting metal soap migration and aggregation. AIC Paintings Specialty Group
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 White hazes
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