Public Watch Conservators Restore Rembrandt Masterpiece
- Editor OGN Daily
- Dec 5, 2024
- 1 min read
Experts are removing layers of old varnish from The Night Watch, which have yellowed with time, as museum visitors look on through a glass barrier.
Visitors to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam are watching one of Rembrandt’s most famous paintings, The Night Watch, change before their eyes. Behind a glass barrier, conservators are removing the painting’s old varnish as it hangs on its gallery wall - the first step in the masterpiece’s restoration.
Finished in 1642, The Night Watch depicts a group of civic guardsmen - Amsterdam’s 17th-century local police force. Rembrandt painted it at the height of his career, and it’s famous for the artist’s masterful treatment of light and shadow.
The 12.5- by 15-foot masterpiece is being restored as part of Operation Night Watch, the Rijksmuseum’s ongoing study of the 17th-century Dutch masterpiece. After five years of initial examination, eight conservators are now starting to strip away its varnish - clear, protective layers often applied atop paintings.
One removed, a new varnish will be applied, bringing the painting “as close as possible to its former glory,” says Rijksmuseum director Taco Dibbits. Adding: “It will be a truly unique experience for the visiting public to be able to follow the process from so close by. You will be able to see The Night Watch, in a sense, naked, without makeup.”
