Fading Orange-Red in Van Gogh's Paintings (IMAGE) Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY Caption Red lead is most familiar to us in orange-red rustproof paint. Artists have treasured the brilliant color of this pigment for their paintings since ancient times. However, various aging processes cause discoloration of the saturated hue over time. Thanks to a combination of X-ray diffraction mapping and tomography experiments at DESY's synchrotron light source PETRA III, Belgian scientists have now explained an additional step in the light-induced degradation of lead red. Credit Collection Kröller-Müller Museum Usage Restrictions Free for use by the media if reporting on the related paper and if proper credit is given to Kröller-Müller Museum. License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.