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Operation Night Watch

This week, an update on our guest, a Dutch icon - The Night Watch.

This week, an update on our guest, a Dutch icon - The Night Watch.

This masterpiece by Rembrandt is nearly 400 years old and sits centre stage at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, where more than 2 million visitors come to see it every year. So when it became clear the painting needed a serious makeover, taking years to complete, the idea of removing it from display was rejected. Instead the museum鈥檚 Director, Taco Dibbits, decided to make Operation Night Watch accessible to all, by building a specially-constructed glass chamber for restorers, scientists and conservators to work under the public's watchful eye; both in the museum and online.

Anik See follows Taco and his team during this key phase of Operation Night Watch, diving into state-of-the-art imaging techniques and discovering the masterpiece鈥檚 secrets and storied past, to find out why this painting remains so important to us. After her initial report on the restoration process, Anik returns two years later to see what progress has been made.

Presented and produced by Anik See
Executive produced by Stephen Hughes for the 成人快手 World Service

Available now

27 minutes

Last on

Sun 10 Jul 2022 01:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Tue 5 Jul 2022 10:32GMT
  • Tue 5 Jul 2022 18:32GMT
  • Tue 5 Jul 2022 21:32GMT
  • Tue 5 Jul 2022 22:32GMT
  • Sun 10 Jul 2022 01:32GMT