Rijksmuseum studies microbes on Rembrandt’s “The Night Watch”
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Researchers at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Netherlands, began a six-month project to sample and study the bacteria living on the surface of Rembrandt van Rijn’s painting, The Night Watch (1642).
The project is part of a larger five-year restoration and research effort called “Operation Night Watch,” which takes place publicly behind a glass wall at the museum.
Scientists will collect samples from areas of the painting with and without varnish, then culture them for display at Artis-Micropia, a microbes museum connected to Amsterdam zoo. The museum hopes the research will reveal traces of past visitors, and even potentially bacteria from Rembrandt himself. Katrien Keune, head of science at the Rijksmuseum, explained the team is interested in finding bacteria related to the artist, calling it “the Holy Grail” of the research.
Previous research at the Rijksmuseum revealed Rembrandt used an oil-lead mixture on his canvases, which may have limited microbial growth compared to other artists of the time. Microbiologist Eline van Bloois from Artis-Micropia hopes the project will change public perception of bacteria, noting that most microbes do not cause illness and can even benefit human health.
The collected samples will be used to create an installation called The Night Watch Lives, which will visually represent the microorganisms found on the famous painting and their locations.
