Shielded from the public by glass panels and peering intently through microscopes, a team of specialists has begun the work of restoring The Night Watch of Rembrandtone of the most iconic paintings of the Dutch Golden Age.
Eight art conservators are meticulously removing multiple layers of varnish from Rembrandt’s masterful oil painting depicting Amsterdam’s civil guard on patrol.
“Operation Nightwatch,” as their work has been called, is so complicated that they don’t know when it will end in the gigantic Rijksmuseum from Amsterdam. The varnish was applied to the 3.62 meter x 4.37 meter work – painted in 1642 – as previous restorers attempted to preserve its beauty as well as repair it after several attacks by vandals.
The last varnish was applied in 1975 after a man cut the painting 12 times with a knife, and in 1981 and 1990 after it was attacked with acid.
“We have monitored The Night Watch for years and we saw that in recent years the varnish had yellowed and also became less transparent in some places,” said the director of the Rijksmuseum, Taco Dibbits. He added: “The old restoration projects were done very quickly, too quickly.” “Operation Nightwatch” seeks to remove the varnish and expose the original paint, before applying another special, new varnish to restore the painting “as close as possible to its former glory.”
Within a closed area, but visible to curious visitors, Anna Krekeler He carefully applied a small piece of highly absorbent fabric to a portion of the painting depicting the sleeve of a militia drummer.
In a delicate operation that takes just a minute, he applied the fabric, impregnated with solvent, to the paint, before covering it with a square of flexible plastic. “When we remove it, all the varnish is absorbed by the fabric and comes off,” explained the conservator. Esther van Duijn.
Restorers then use a cotton swab to remove any varnish residue that may remain on the delicate painting surface. “I think the most exciting and perhaps the most terrifying thing is that people are looking over our shoulders, but once you’re working you tend to forget that,” Van Duijn laughed.
Added Dibbits: “During this process, the public can come and see something that is very exciting and very exceptional,” since “they will be able to see The Night Watchin a certain sense, naked, without makeupand that’s what I think is so surprising in this period to see.”
Outside the room, curious visitors film and intensely discuss the process. “It’s my first visit to Amsterdam and I didn’t expect to see The Night Watch in a room behind glass,” he said. Daniela Bueno57 years old, from Brazil. “But it is such delicate work and it is incredible to witness the restoration process that will still take years,” he said.
Remove old varnish from the surface of The Night Watch It is the third stage of a research and conservation project that began five years ago, which will leave Rembrandt’s masterpiece looking much grayer, but will be “temporary” the conservators said. The next stage will be new varnish, touching up old damage and finally, a new frame. “Hopefully then it will look almost as good as it did in its former glory,” Van Duijn said.
Rijksmuseum director Dibbits said it was not possible to say when “Operation Nightwatch” will end: “The painting itself decides how long it will take, what the pace will be,” he reflected.
Fuente: AFP
(Photos: REUTERS/Yves Herman)
