Scientists have discovered how Rembrandt created his paintings.
Scientists said that Rembrandt and possibly other great artists of the Renaissance used optical tricks in order to write their self-portraits almost photographic accuracy.
The findings of scientists was published in the Journal of Optics. One of the innovations of the Renaissance artists was the writing not only of landscapes, still lifes and portraits of other people, but ourselves, reproducing the image with almost photographic accuracy.
According to researchers, this effect was achieved due to the fact that the artists used a system of lenses, which helped them to project the image onto the canvas. First and foremost, the authors of new works draw attention to the fact that the Guild Renaissance engage both artists and masters of glass, which allowed the painters to have access to all necessary technology.
In the course of writing self-portraits Rembrandt used a concave mirror, flat mirror and fluorescent light to obtain a projection of himself on the canvas. The researchers also noted that early self-portraits Rembrandt was painted on a sheet of copper, which is a strange choice of material when writing a self-portrait, but great for the artist who paints a picture on a projection which can easily be seen on copper.
In addition, the majority of self-portraits Rembrandt looks to the side, making it impossible to see if he wrote portrait, looking in the mirror.
