Rembrandt’s Night Watch: Three Attacks, the 1715 Cut, and the 2021 AI Reconstruction

29. Mai 2026

Rembrandt Night Watch three attacks 2021 AI reconstruction DeckArts

Last updated: May 2026 · By Stanislav Arnautov · Berlin

Quick answer

The Night Watch (1642): the most attacked painting in Western art history. Three physical attacks; the 1715 cut (two figures removed to fit through a door); the 2021 AI reconstruction. Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. DeckArts triptych from ~$310. On forest green under 2700K.

The Night Watch (De Nachtwacht, 1642) by Rembrandt van Rijn is the most attacked painting in Western art history: a bread knife (1911), a serrated knife (1975), and sulphuric acid (1990). The 1715 cut removed two figures. The 2021 AI reconstruction restored the original composition. At the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. DeckArts triptych from ~$310. See: Rembrandt: Complete Biography.

Twelve Specific Facts

1. Size: 363 × 437 cm current; approximately 363 × 500 cm original (pre-1715). 2. Commission: For the Kloveniersdoelen (Amsterdam civic militia guild hall), c.1640–1642. One of six militia group portraits — Rembrandt’s was the only one showing figures in motion. 3. Title: Not Rembrandt’s — 18th-century dark varnish made it appear to be a night scene. The original painting depicts daylight. 4. Subject: Captain Frans Banninck Cocq (black, red sash, left) orders Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburch (yellow, right) to march the company. 5. The illuminated girl: Carries the guild’s dead-cock symbol at her belt; illuminated by an unexplained internal light source; likened to Saskia van Uylenburgh (Rembrandt’s wife, who died in 1642). 6. Self-portrait: Rembrandt’s face is partially visible at the far back right, between helmets, watching the scene. 7. Operation Night Watch: The largest art research and conservation project in history (2019–ongoing); 44.8 gigapixel macro X-ray fluorescence map. All data public at Rijksmuseum. 8. Bankruptcy: Rembrandt declared insolvency in 1656, 14 years after the Night Watch. Died 1669 in a rented room; buried in an unmarked grave. 9. Posthumous reputation declined; reassessed by French 18th-century critics as the greatest Dutch painter. 10. The only Rijksmuseum painting with its own permanent dedicated conservation and research gallery. 11. The Gerrit Lundens 17th-century copy (National Gallery London) is the sole pre-1715 record of the original composition. 12. Rembrandt is visible in one other major painting: as the figure holding a shield in his own 1629 History Painting (Leiden).

The Three Physical Attacks

Date	Method	Damage
12 Sept 1911	Bread knife (H.J.J. de Graan, discharged cook)	Large horizontal cut in Banninck Cocq’s figure; repaired
14 Sept 1975	Serrated bread knife (Wilhelmus de Rijk, teacher)	12 slash wounds, 5–10 cm deep; repaired over 5 years
6 April 1990	Sulphuric acid, full bottle	Varnish dissolved; paint layer largely undamaged; varnish replaced

The 1715 Cut and the AI Reconstruction

In 1715 the Night Watch was moved to Amsterdam Town Hall. Too large for its new position, it was trimmed: the left edge lost one complete militiaman figure and portions of several others; top, right, and bottom also trimmed. Removed sections were discarded. In 2021, the Rijksmuseum trained a convolutional neural network on the Lundens copy to reconstruct the missing portions. The reconstructed sections were printed at full scale and displayed alongside the original — the Night Watch in its approximate pre-1715 format, for the first time since 1715. Reference: Rijksmuseum — Night Watch.

Night Watch for Home Decor

DeckArts triptych (~$310): ~70 cm wide, sized to 50–75% of a standard 2-seat sofa. Best wall: forest green (Farrow & Ball Calke Green). Dutch Golden Age guild halls displayed militia portraits on dark green walls; the Night Watch’s warm amber tenebrism advances most powerfully from organic dark. 2700K warm LED directed spot mandatory. See: Forest Green Wall Art 2026; LED Lighting: Why 2700K Is Mandatory; Wall Art Sizing Guide 2026.

Three Programmes

1. Dutch Golden Age Living Room (~$310): Forest green feature wall + Night Watch triptych (~$310) at 155–165 cm + aged brass arc 2700K + directed track spot. See: Best Wall Art for a Living Room 2026.

2. Dark Academia Library (~$450): Forest green all walls + Night Watch triptych (~$310) primary + Melencolia I single (~$140) facing desk + aged brass lamps. See: Dark Academia Room Decor 2026.

3. Bold Home Office Zoom Background (~$310): Forest green + Night Watch triptych (~$310) behind desk at 135–155 cm + directed 2700K on the triptych (warm background in Zoom frame). See: Best Wall Art for a Home Office 2026.

FAQ

How many times was the Night Watch attacked?

Three times: (1) 1911, bread knife; (2) 1975, serrated knife (12 slash wounds, 5–10 cm deep); (3) 1990, sulphuric acid (varnish layer absorbed most; paint largely undamaged). All repaired. The painting remains on permanent display at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. DeckArts Night Watch triptych from ~$310. Forest green; 2700K.