June 24, 2021

Andrew Campbell 

On June 23, the reconstructed painting, Rembrandt's iconic "The Night Watch", went on debuted at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Night Watch, also known as Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq from 1642 and one of Rembrandt's finest works and a prime representation of Dutch Golden Age painting, is back on display in its original size, with missing parts temporarily restored and aided by artificial intelligence (AI).

The canvas, which was painted in 1642, was cut in 1715 to fit between two city hall doors in Amsterdam. 60cm to the left, 22cm to the top, 12cm to the bottom, and 7cm to the right have been missing since then. The Rijksmuseum has owned the Night Watch since it opened in 1885 and it has been restoring the painting since 2019 as a process known as Operation Night Watch, a multi-year and multi-million-dollar restoration project.

Dr. Rob Erdmann, a professor at the University of Amsterdam, led the attempt to use AI software to reconstruct the original artwork using the surviving preserved piece and a 17th-century replica attributed to Gerrit Lundens that was completed around 1655 before the cuts. For the first time in 300 years, AI technology has now restored the entire artwork.

Photo:webshot.