Equipement for analyzing the painting's condition is seen next to Rembrandt's Night Watch, which will be restored next year in the public eye in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
The Associated Press
AMSTERDAM (AP) - The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is going to restore its most famous painting, Rembrandt van Rijn's Night Watch, starting next year in a project that will be open to the public and viewable online.
Rijksmusem General Director Taco Dibbits said Tuesday that from July the huge Golden Age masterpiece will be encased in a specially built glass chamber as it first undergoes a thorough varnish-to-canvas examination using a precise microscope. The findings will guide the subsequent restoration.
The painting is ready for a little TLC. Dibbits says the work, which last underwent a restoration 40 years ago, is starting to show blanching in parts of the canvas.
Dibbits says "the restoration techniques we now have are so advanced that we will safeguard the painting for future generations."
Equipement for analyzing the painting's condition is seen next to Rembrandt's Night Watch, which will be restored next year in the public eye, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
The Associated Press
Rijksmuseum director Taco Dibbets waits to answer questions in front of Rembrandt's Night Watch, which will be restored next year in the public eye, as equipment for analyzing the painting's condition is seen rear right in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
The Associated Press
Rijksmuseum director Taco Dibbets announces the restoration of Rembrandt's Night Watch, right, which will be restored next year in the public eye, as equipment for analyzing the painting's condition is seen right in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
The Associated Press
Journalists attend a press conference where the announcement was made that Rembrandt's Night Watch, rear, will be restored next year in the public eye at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
The Associated Press