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Paint like the old masters!
This handmade watercolor set includes 12 pigments that are known to be used by Rembrandt in the 1600s (all half-pan size):
-- Lead-Tin Yellow
-- Yellow Ocher (natural pigment)
-- Red Ocher (natural pigment)
-- Vermilion (natural pigment)
-- Raw Sienna (natural pigment)
-- Burnt Sienna (natural pigment)
-- Raw Umber (natural pigment)
-- Burnt Umber (natural pigment)
-- Cassel Earth (natural pigment)
-- Titanium White
-- Ivory Black
-- Prussian blue - is the only substitute pigment in the palette. Rembrandt used Azurite, which was used in Middle Ages and during Renaissance. Prussian Blue was invented in 1706 (37 years after Rembrandt's death) and it completely replaced Azurite. Genuine Azurite pigment is still around but more rare and expensive.
Personal painting experience: I recreated Rembrandt's palette to see what it was like to paint with it and to immerse myself in painting portraits like the old masters. I have only began using this palette and I must say it is amazing! There is no waste and no mud (since most colors are warm), and each color has its place. It’s easy to blend colors for realistic skin tones, especially with multiple portrait references (Rembrandt painted 56 oil self-portraits in his lifetime, and about 600 paintings of other people!).
Rembrandt lived and worked during 1600s. Back then, there were only around 17 pigments available to artists (compare it with over 2000 pigments available now!). It’s well known and documented that Rembrandt used around 12 pigments throughout his painting career. He used his powerful palette to convey light, shadow, dimension, depth, as well as glow and motion.
All colors in this palette are lightfast, highly pigmented, saturated, deep, and rich.
Each one is a stand alone pigment (no blends!).
