Blue and Yellow Pigments - The Hidden Colours of Light in Cuyp and Vermeer

Abstract

This short article is about the identification of vivianite in an oil painting by Jan Vermeer and the identification of orpiment in an oil painting by Aelbert Cuyp. Both discoveries are unusual for the artists' palette; however, the author suggests that the use of these pigments in mixtures points to the artists' subtle appreciation of their effects. The use of these pigments by other artists is referred to. The pigments were analyzed in cross section, and the technique of scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive x-ray analysis (SEM-EDX) was used.