Editing Johannes Vermeer (section)

===Painting materials===
One aspect of his meticulous painting technique was Vermeer's choice of pigments.{{Sfn|Kuhn|1968|pp=154–202}} He is best known for his frequent use of the very expensive [[ultramarine]] (''[[The Milkmaid (Vermeer)|The Milkmaid]]'') and also [[lead-tin-yellow]] (''[[A Lady Writing a Letter]]''), [[madder lake]] ([[Christ in the House of Martha and Mary (Vermeer)|''Christ in the House of Martha and Mary'']]), and [[vermilion]]. He also painted with [[ochres]], [[bone char|bone black]] and [[azurite]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://colourlex.com/paintings/paintings-painter/dutch-painters/ |title=Pigment Analyses of Paintings: Dutch Painters |work=ColourLex}}</ref> The claim that he used [[Indian yellow]] in ''[[Woman Holding a Balance]]''{{Sfn|Kuhn|1968|pp=191–192}} has been disproven by pigment analysis.<ref>{{Cite contribution |last=Gifford |first=E. M. |title=Painting Light: Recent Observations on Vermeer's Technique}} In {{harvnb|Gaskell|Jonker|National Gallery of Art (U.S.)|1998|pp=185–199}}</ref>

In Vermeer's oeuvre, only about 20 pigments have been detected. Of these, seven principal pigments that Vermeer commonly employed are lead white, yellow ochre, vermilion, madder lake, green earth, raw umber, and ivory or bone black.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Janson|first1=Jonathan|title=Vermeer's Palette|url=http://www.essentialvermeer.com/palette/palette_vermeer'_palette.html#.WM7coBIrJE5|website=Essential Vermeer|access-date=19 March 2017}}</ref>