What Is Operation Night Watch and Why Is It Important?

We have great news for all art lovers and admirers of Rembrandt's work. The restoration of "The Night Watch," one of the most famous works by this Dutch painter, is underway at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and you can watch it via a live online stream.

The Night Watch, or more precisely, the painting titled The Company of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburch Preparing to March, is a masterpiece by Rembrandt van Rijn, the greatest and best-known Dutch Baroque painter and printmaker. It was painted in oil on canvas in 1642 and depicts marksmen, or members of a shooting guild, which also commissioned the work.

The Restoration Process:

After detailed studies involving research into painting techniques, high-resolution photographs, and advanced computer analysis, an exact work plan was created. The "Operation Night Watch" project also allows the public to follow the work because, as the Rijksmuseum director says, this work belongs to everyone who lives in the Netherlands and throughout the world, and the public has the right to see what is happening to it. The painting is housed in a specially designed glass chamber, so it can still be seen while visitors can also watch everything happening around it.

Interesting Facts:

The painting depicts the interior of a shooting hall during the day, but it got the nickname "The Night Watch" when it was covered with a darker varnish and really looked as if it were nighttime. The dark varnish was later removed, but the nickname remained.

The painting was shortened by about 20% from its original version to fit in its new location. The painting's current size is 3.6 m × 4.4 m; originally, it was 4 m × 5 m.

With this painting, his most ambitious work, which he painted at the height of his career, Rembrandt lost popularity because he did not follow the customary approach to painting group portraits. Not all the figures in the painting are equally visible, which dissatisfied the commissioner.

The painting has suffered several “attacks.” Visitors damaged it with a knife twice, and in 1990, one museum visitor sprayed the painting with acid. Security staff reacted quickly, however, and water was immediately applied to the canvas, preventing the acid from penetrating the deeper layers. The painting was restored after the damage.

This painting has been restored at least 25 times, but “Operation Night Watch” will be the most extensive study.

Link to follow the restoration of The Night Watch: https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/nightwatch