The 'Operation night watch' is already underway
They say you always have to leave something for the mystery. We don't know if the night watch , Rembrandt's most important work, will be able to do it once the research project and subsequent restoration that he Amsterdam Rijksmuseum just started. They even gave it a name: Operation Night Watch.
No, it is not a restoration process anymore. It is the restoration process, if we consider the techniques that are going to be used, the wingspan that it will reach and that, and here comes the most interesting for ordinary mortals, It can be seen live and direct!
More than 20 specialists will work on the project
And it is that the museum of the Dutch capital has installed a large window around the painting designed specifically for this occasion, in such a way that they can be follow some jobs step by step that from the institution qualify as the largest undertaken on this work. Given its importance, the Rijksmuseum has also launched ** a web page from which they will be broadcast live.**
More than 20 specialists from the Rijksmuseum, including scientists, curators, curators and photographers, as well as museums and universities in the Netherlands and abroad will take part in a project that aims to guarantee the long-term conservation of the night watch.
For this, it will develop a first phase of research in which advanced techniques will be used, ranging from digital imaging to technical and scientific research, going by artificial intelligence or computing.
The objective is to try to elucidate what was the original appearance of the painting, to understand what is your current status and provide data on the changes you have experienced over the years.
It will be analyzed down to the smallest detail using the most advanced techniques
In addition, it is expected to answer questions about the materials used by Rembrandt and his technique; the impact they have had treatments prior to this restoration and that they may have future interventions, their degradation and what awaits the painting in terms of conservation.
The thoroughness of the work will be such that imaging techniques will be used, such as X-rays to analyze the presence of chemical elements , such as calcium, metal, potassium or cobalt, that allow us to understand the pigments used by Rembrandt. The entire surface of a box will be scanned measuring more than four meters wide by more than three meters high, which will mean doing about 56 shots each of which will carry 24 hours of work; and they will be done until 12,500 high-resolution photos to perceive those details that with the naked eye would be impossible to detect.
The night watch will be without its frame for a season and the canvas will be placed on an easel specially designed for the occasion. With the results of all this research, the restoration plan for Rembrandt's masterpiece will be developed.
Do you dare to see it live and direct?