Museum to fix 'ripples' in Rembrandt's 'Night Watch'
ABC News
The Netherlands’ national museum is planning to restretch Rembrandt van Rijn’s iconic painting “The Night Watch” to get rid of deformations in its top left corner
THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Rembrandt van Rijn's iconic painting “The Night Watch” will be restretched to get rid of deformations in its top left corner, the Netherlands’ national museum announced Wednesday.
The 379.5x453.5-centimeter (149.4x178.5-inch) canvas will be removed from its wooden stretcher next month and placed on a new one to remove rippling that was caused when the world famous painting was housed in a temporary gallery while the Rijksmuseum underwent major renovations from 2003-2013.
The oil on canvas painting depicts an Amsterdam civil militia and shows off Rembrandt’s renowned use of light and composition to create a dynamic scene filled with characters.
The museum said the ripples were likely caused by “excessive climatic fluctuations in the gallery” where it hung during the rebuilding work on its landmark home in Amsterdam.
