Dear Marten: Van Gogh vs. Rembrandt Watercolors

Dear Marten,

I am trying to learn a little bit about the differences between the student grade and artist grade watercolors you offer; specifically between the Van Gogh and Rembrandt watercolor lines. Very roughly, do the Rembrandts contain double the pigment that the Van Goghs do (or more or less than this)?

Thank you in advance for your help.​

Sincerely,​

Christine ​

Dear Christine,

Thank you for your question and for your interest in Royal Talens brands.

Rembrandt is our premium watercolor line. Like our Rembrandt Oils and Soft Pastels, it has the most exclusive properties and highest quality of any of our ranges.

Van Gogh is our artist brand. It is not as high a quality as Rembrandt, but is one step above what is often called "student grade" paint.

As for pigment loads, Rembrandt has more pigment, but not double. Each color varies in it's pigment/binder ratio, so it's not possible to quantify in that way. We pack in as much pigment as the recipe will allow, while still maintaining the working properties that professional artists require.

Beyond pigment, there are other significant differences between a professional and artist brand.

Milling is very important for pigment dispersion, and professional brands are run through the mill more times and the pigments are ground to a finer consistency for premium dispersion. This heavily impacts tinting strength, as there is more surface area to refract light amongst each pigment particle.

Exclusive colors like cobalts and cadmiums are often only found in professional brands.

Professional lines have more color options. In 2020, Rembrandt will offer 120 colors, where Van Gogh has 72.

Professional colors come in several series reflective of the exclusivity of the pigment, where artist and economy lines have only one or two series.

Professional lines offer only the highest or excellent lightfast pigments, where value brands can include pigments with a good or fair rating.

Depending on your priorities, both these lines offer great quality and value. For the discerning professional, Rembrandt is the obvious choice, but I do work with many professional water color artists who include Van Gogh in their palette.

I hope this answers your questions.

Met vriendelijke groet, With kind regards,

Marten Talens

Marten Talens founded Royal Talens, the Dutch Factory for Paints, Lacquers and Inks, in Apeldoorn (the Netherlands) in 1899.