“Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banning Cocq” is a Dutch Golden Age work commissioned by Captain Cocq and his schutterij, or voluntary civil guards, and painted by Rembrandt van Rijn in 1642.
Northern Netherlands was known for the volunteer citizen troops that patrolled city streets, guarded the gates, and handled other matters of civic disorder. Many may wonder why such groups don’t exist today. But it was a very important part of society in Rembrandt’s time, with each company having their own hall, which would have featured group portraits such as this masterpiece hung in the new Kloveniersdoelen in Amsterdam. This painting is unique in that it shows the company in action, with the captain (dressed in black) giving orders to his lieutenant, Willem van Ruytenburgh.
Restoration began in 2019, and for five years, among other things, research was conducted on how to remove the mix of dark varnish and accumulated dust covering the 3.8×4.5 meter canvas, which led to its mistaken nomenclature of “Night Watch.” The giant artwork is being renovated in a new aluminum frame in full view of museum-goers behind a glass wall.
Eight restorers are involved in the process of applying small pieces of tissues with a bit of solvent to painstakingly remove bits of the varnish. Whatever is not removed in this manner is being wiped away bit by bit under a microscope using Q-tips and other techniques.
“Rembrandt painted with a very clear contrast between light and dark, and that had become far less obvious in the painting. So I think that once it’s restored, it will have much more depth and the figures in the painting will really come to life,” said the director-general of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Taco Dibbits.
The Rijksmuseum has the world’s largest collection of Rembrandts.
