Following five years of intensive research and the re-stretching of the painting, a team of eight Rijksmuseum conservators have started removing the varnish from The Night Watch. This marks the beginning of the second phase of Operation Night Watch, the biggest ever research and restoration project devoted to Rembrandt’s masterpiece. Visitors are able to follow the process live in the Night Watch Gallery, where the restoration work is being carried out with microscopic precision in the see-through glass chamber.

Varnish

The museum’s conservators have started to remove the varnish layers that were applied to the painting as part of its restoration in 1975-1976. The varnish is solubilised and absorbed into tissue prepared with a solvent. Then, using a microscope, they carefully remove any remnants of even older varnish with cotton swabs. This moment is the culmination of years of scientific research, applying this technique to other paintings, and conducting tests on The Night Watch itself.

Operation Night Watch

Over the last five years a large team of conservators, curators, scientists and other specialists have studied The Night Watch using the most advanced technologies: from digital imaging to scientific and technical studies, and from computer science to artificial intelligence. This work has led to various breakthroughs in the understanding of the painting’s condition and the artist’s way of working.