Rijksmuseum begins years-long restoration of Rembrandt's ‘Night Watch’

The Manila Times

Rijksmuseum begins years-long restoration of Rembrandt's ‘Night Watch’  Eight art conservators have begun a painstaking process to remove a layer of varnish from Rembrandt's giant "Night Watch" masterpiece to reveal its original depth and color.  The task, which could last years, began on Tuesday, November 12, at the national Rijksmuseum gallery in Amsterdam.  The next stage of "Operation Night Watch," the most extensive restoration of the artwork, also will help preserve the painting for future generations and repair any damage.  REUTERS VIDEO  Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe  Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net    Follow us:  Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook  Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram  Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter  DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion    Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital    Check out our Podcasts:  Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify  Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts  Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic  Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer  Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein   #TheManilaTimes  #worldnews  #art  #nightwatch

Transcript

00:00Today we are removing

00:29varnish from the night watch and we're using a non-woven tissue impregnated or

00:37prepared with a small amount of solvent and the tissue is placed against the

00:42paint surface and then the varnish solubilizes and it is really pulled

00:49into the cloth. We're using a non-woven tissue for that and that tissue is

00:54impregnated with a very small amount of solvent and we place that tissue on the

01:00paint surface and the varnish dissolves and it's pulled or absorbed into the

01:06cloth. Here you can see that all the yellowed varnish is now in the piece

01:12that we have removed from the night watch.

01:15Rembrandt painted with a very clear contrast between light and dark and that

01:33has become far less obvious in the painting so I think that once it's

01:38restored it will have much more depth and the figures in the painting will

01:43really come to life. The painting will decide the pace so we can't say well

01:48it's ready in a year or it's ready in two years. Now I think the varnish

01:52removal will probably be around a year and then you can really see what the

01:59damages are, how we have to restore it in the best way possible and that will

02:04take several years so there is time to come and see the restoration.

02:34you

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