Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Rembrandt's Night Watch to Get Restoration in Amsterdam
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
October 17, 2018

Share

AMSTERDAM — Rembrandt van Rijn’s Golden Age masterpiece The Night Watch is getting a makeover.

“The restoration techniques we now have are so advanced that we will safeguard the painting for future generations.” Rijksmusem General Director Taco Dibbits
Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum announced Tuesday that it will restore its most famous painting, starting next year in a project that will be open to the public and viewable online.
Rijksmusem General Director Taco Dibbits said that from July the huge Golden Age masterpiece will be encased in a specially built glass chamber as it first undergoes a thorough varnish-to-canvas examination using a precise microscope and other modern techniques. The findings will guide the subsequent restoration.
“The restoration techniques we now have are so advanced that we will safeguard the painting for future generations,” he said.
The painting is ready for a little TLC. The work, which last underwent a restoration 40 years ago, is starting to show blanching in parts of the canvas.

The Painting Has Suffered in the Past

“We want to understand what that change is so that we can restore it as well as possible,” Dibbits told reporters at a presentation of the planned restoration.

“If you stand close to it, it will appear far more detailed. So it will be very special to see, but the restoration process itself will also be very special.” — Rijksmusem General Director Taco Dibbits
The painting of a citizens’ militia completed in 1642 has suffered in the past.
During the World War II Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, it was hidden along with other valuable artworks in a cave in the southern city of Maastricht. In 1975 a man slashed it with a knife, leaving 12 scars in the canvas, and in 1990 an attacker sprayed acid on the canvas damaging the varnish. It took restorers only a couple of weeks to repair the damage inflicted by the acid.
Dibbits said the painting has been retouched many other times in the past and that the later additions are starting to fade.
The next restoration should change all that.
“I think it will look much better,” Dibbits said. “If you stand close to it, it will appear far more detailed. So it will be very special to see, but the restoration process itself will also be very special.”

Restorations Have Often Been Carried out Behind Closed Doors

In the past, restorations have often been carried out behind closed doors, but museums now are starting to open up the process to the public.
The Night Watch “belongs to us all,” Dibbits said.
“That is why we have decided to conduct the restoration within the museum itself and everyone, wherever they are, will be able to follow the process online.”
More than 2 million people each year visit the Rijksmuseum, which has the world’s largest collection of Rembrandt works. The Golden Age master is known for his innovative use of light and rebellious compositions.
The restoration project comes in the year that marks the 350th anniversary of the artist’s death in 1669 and will be part of a “Year of Rembrandt” at the museum.
Before its restoration, The Night Watch will be part of a major exhibition of all the Rembrandt works owned by the museum — 22 paintings, 60 drawings and 300 of his 1,300 prints.

DON'T MISS

Rural California, Reliant on the Trump Administration for Jobs, Braces for Cuts

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: CEMEX’s New Mining Plan for the San Joaquin River

DON'T MISS

Trump Fires NSC Officials a Day After Far-Right Activist Raises Concerns to Him

DON'T MISS

China Halts Approvals for New US Investment Projects

DON'T MISS

Measles Spreads to Central Texas; 5 States Have Active Outbreaks

DON'T MISS

Trump Tariff Fears Erase $2 Trillion From US Stocks

DON'T MISS

Startup Offers Controversial Microplastic Blood Cleansing Treatment

DON'T MISS

Senate Confirms Mehmet Oz to Take Lead of Medicare and Medicaid Agency

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Pence Will Receive the Profile in Courage Award From the JFK Library for His Actions on Jan. 6

UP NEXT

The ‘Six’ Wives of King Henry VIII Sing Their Hearts Out in Fresno

UP NEXT

Val Kilmer, ‘Top Gun’ and Batman Star With an Intense Approach, Dies at 65

UP NEXT

Anjelah Johnson-Reyes to Headline Chukchansi’s Summer Series with ‘Family Reunion Tour’

UP NEXT

Gronk-a-Mania Set to Run Wild Over WrestleMania Weekend

UP NEXT

Head of Amazon’s TV and Film Steps Down

UP NEXT

Prosecutor Seeks 18-Month Suspended Sentence for Depardieu if Convicted of Sexual Assault

UP NEXT

Plant-Based Eating in Middle Age Linked to Healthier Senior Years

UP NEXT

Woman Accuses Actor Gérard Depardieu of Sexual Assault on Film Set

UP NEXT

Topgolf Coming to the Central Valley? Chukchansi Gold to Open First Swing Suite

UP NEXT

‘Juntos’ Tour Brings Regional Mexican Superstars to Fresno This Summer

China Halts Approvals for New US Investment Projects

15 hours ago

Measles Spreads to Central Texas; 5 States Have Active Outbreaks

15 hours ago

Trump Tariff Fears Erase $2 Trillion From US Stocks

16 hours ago

Startup Offers Controversial Microplastic Blood Cleansing Treatment

16 hours ago

Senate Confirms Mehmet Oz to Take Lead of Medicare and Medicaid Agency

17 hours ago

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

19 hours ago

Pence Will Receive the Profile in Courage Award From the JFK Library for His Actions on Jan. 6

19 hours ago

Politics Turns Ugly for a Conservative Running for Fresno State Student Body President

19 hours ago

Pentagon’s Watchdog to Review Hegseth’s Use of Signal App to Convey Plans for Houthi Strike

19 hours ago

President Trump’s Tariffs Could Be the Political Tipping Point

20 hours ago

Rural California, Reliant on the Trump Administration for Jobs, Braces for Cuts

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Far from the halls of power in Washington, the forested ha...

51 minutes ago

51 minutes ago

Rural California, Reliant on the Trump Administration for Jobs, Braces for Cuts

14 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: CEMEX’s New Mining Plan for the San Joaquin River

President Donald Trump speaks during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)
14 hours ago

Trump Fires NSC Officials a Day After Far-Right Activist Raises Concerns to Him

15 hours ago

China Halts Approvals for New US Investment Projects

15 hours ago

Measles Spreads to Central Texas; 5 States Have Active Outbreaks

16 hours ago

Trump Tariff Fears Erase $2 Trillion From US Stocks

16 hours ago

Startup Offers Controversial Microplastic Blood Cleansing Treatment

Dr. Mehmet Oz, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, seated right, gives a thumbs-up alongside his wife Lisa Oz, seated left, with friends and family after he testified at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP/Ben Curtis)
17 hours ago

Senate Confirms Mehmet Oz to Take Lead of Medicare and Medicaid Agency

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend