For the First Time in 300 Years Rembrandt’s ‘Night Watch’ is Complete Again

Visitors to the Rijksmuseum can now enjoy The Night Watch in its original form, for the first time in 300 years. Several sections were cut from the painting in the past. The Operation Night Watch team has successfully recreated these missing pieces, which have now been mounted around Rembrandt’s world-famous work. This reconstruction based on the 17th-century copy attributed to Gerrit Lundens was made with the help of artificial intelligence. The result is a significant component in the art historical research conducted as part of Operation Night Watch. The reconstructed painting will remain on public display at the Rijksmuseum for the coming months. Anyone who is unable to visit the museum due to the ongoing restrictions can view the reconstruction on our website, along with plenty of supplementary information.

Taco Dibbits, director of the Rijksmuseum: The Night Watch as it is displayed in the Rijksmuseum is etched into our collective memory. Thanks to this reconstruction, we can now see that the composition as it was painted by Rembrandt was even more dynamic. It is wonderful to be able to now see with our own eyes The Night Watch as Rembrandt intended it to be seen.

Differences

There are a number of differences between The Night Watch as we know it today and the painting in its original form. On the left of the reconstructed version, for example, we can now see three figures on a bridge: two militiamen and a young child. And the painting’s main figures, Captain Frans Banninck Cocq and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburch, are now positioned to the right of centre, rather than in the middle of the canvas. These factors add a considerable sense of movement and dynamism to the painting. It is now also clearer that the powder boy in the left foreground is grasping a balustrade. The boy has furthermore gained space into which he can move, with the result that he seems more clearly to be running away, ahead of the militia. The helmet worn by the militiaman on the extreme right is now complete, and there is space above the standard, making the motion of the ensign as he raises the company’s colours more convincing.

Art Historical Research

The reconstruction of The Night Watch is an important component of the art historical research conducted as part of Operation Night Watch. By reconstructing the missing sections, printing them on panels, and temporarily placing them around the original painting, researchers can now experience the effect of the painting in its original form. Operation Night Watch is the largest and most wide-ranging research project ever conducted into Rembrandt’s masterpiece. The research began in summer 2019, and conservation work will only commence following completion of this phase. We do this together with the experts of main partner AkzoNobel.

Ensemble

Rembrandt finished The Night Watch in 1642. The militia commissioned Rembrandt to make the painting for its new banqueting hall at its headquarters, the Kloveniersdoelen. Hanging in this hall, the painting formed part an ensemble comprising seven militia portraits, or schuttersstukken. Experiencing the original composition allows for a better comparison with the six other works. It is not the museum’s intention to incorporate the lost pieces in the actual restoration of The Night Watch.

Photo: Rijksmuseum/Reinier Gerritsen

In 1715, The Night Watch was moved to what was then Amsterdam’s City Hall, now the Royal Palace on Dam Square. The painting was too large for its new location, so it was reduced in size. Strips were cut from all four sides, with the largest section being removed from the left side. These pieces have never been found.

Pieter Roelofs, Head of Paintings and Sculptures, Rijksmuseum: The fate of the missing pieces of The Night Watch remains a great mystery. Each generation has used the tools available to it to attempt to reconstruct the painting. Now we are doing the same, using the most advanced techniques currently available.

Artificial Intelligence

We know what the painting originally looked like thanks to the copy commissioned by Captain Frans Banninck Cocq – and probably painted by Gerrit Lundens in the period from 1642 to 1655. This copy served as the basis for the reconstruction made with the help of artificial intelligence. In the first step, the team taught Rembrandt’s technique and use of colour to so-called ‘artificial neural networks’. Once this phase was complete, the computer recreated the missing parts in the style of Rembrandt.

Robert Erdmann, Senior Scientist, Rijksmuseum: This project testifies to the key importance of science and modern techniques in the research being conducted into The Night Watch. It is thanks to artificial intelligence that we can so closely simulate the original painting and the impression it would have made.

Video

The reconstructed version of The Night Watch is also available for viewing on the Rijksmuseum’s new website, where visitors can zoom in on several images to explore the discoveries we have made in the course of our research. In addition, we are today publishing a video about how this reconstruction came about. Visitors will also find additional information about the various research techniques used for Operation Night Watch.