Rubens' Palette, a view by Denman Ross

Denman Ross sets forth a 'set palette' in his book, On Drawing and Painting, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1912 that he says is based on the palette used by Rubens:

There is another palette, Palette 10, which should be mentioned which is not very far from being the palette which was used by Rubens and some other masters of the Renaissance. The form of this palette is shown on page 53. This palette, more than any other that I have proposed, reproduces the relation of colors and values which we see in the Spectrum. It was not, however, worked out with any particular reference to the Spectrum. It is based upon a color and value analysis of certain paintings by Rubens. In using this palette I am constantly reminded of Rubens in the way the tones come. I am reminded also of Correggio and of Turner. The descents from Yellow follow, as I have said, the value and color relations of the Spectrum, with an omission, however, of all violet tones. Violet rarely occurs in Renaissance painting. The lower tones of the palette are found in Burnt Sienna more or less mixed with a cool Green like Vert Emeraude. Below these orange and green tones comes a very dark brown, Van Dyck Brown or Cassel Earth, perhaps, which disappears in Black. The registers in Palette 10 are not repetitions of one another, but variations of the movement from Blue down to Red; variations which are so devised as to get the colors, as many as possible, to occur in the value of their highest intensities and in those intensities. Palette 10 is a palette for the lover of color.

On Drawing and Painting by Denman Waldo Ross:

This is not a palette based on historic equivalency to the pigments used by Rubens, but rather Rubens' palette using modern pigments in a modern viewpoint. Ross assigns RO to burnt Sienna, GB to chrome oxide (Verte Emeraude or chrome oxide dihydrate, Colour Index Pigment Green 18, 77289) and the other color notations with high intensity pigments as follows:

By Red I mean the only positive color which shows no element of Yellow or of Blue. It is the color which we often describe by the word Crimson. It is produced by the mixture of Rose Madder and Vermilion. By Yellow I mean the only positive color which shows no element either of Red or Blue. It is the color of the primrose, which may be produced by the pigment Aureolin with a very little Vert Emeraude. By Blue I mean the only positive color which shows no element either of Yellow or of Red. Blue is seen in a clear sky after rain and in the pigment Cobalt. By Orange I mean a positive color showing equal elements of Red and Yellow. By Green I mean a positive color showing equal elements of Yellow and of Blue. By Violet I mean a positive color showing equal elements of Blue and Red. (emphasis mine)

It would be interesting to attempt to reproduce Rubens' painting using this palette, as opposed to the actual pigments he used. However, it would be easier using a palette with his pigments and tints set in the manner described in de Piles' book.