レンブラントの「夜警」、絵の具の下から下絵発見　オランダ

【ハーグＡＦＰ＝時事】オランダ美術の巨匠レンブラントの大作「夜警」（１６４２年）の何層にも重ねられた絵の具の下から下絵が発見された。修復を行っているアムステルダム国立美術館が８日、発表した。（写真はオランダ・アムステルダム国立美術館で、欠損部分を復元された巨匠レンブラントの作品「夜警」）
　同美術館のタコ・ディビッツ館長は、制作過程を知ることができる「大発見」だと語った。これまでも、極めて複雑な構図の夜警を描き始める前に下絵を描いたと考えられてきたが、証拠はなかったという。
　下絵には、背景の人物のヘルメットに羽根飾りが、主役２人の間に剣が描かれていた。
　同美術館の絵画部門責任者ピーター・ルロフス氏は「下絵では羽根がはっきりと見えるが、画面にはない」と話した。羽根飾りが描かれなかった理由は、この人物が中央にいるため「目を引きすぎる」と考えた可能性があるという。
　同美術館では、約３０人の専門家が２年半にわたり、最先端のイメージング技術とコンピューター技術を使ってレンブラントの用いた技術の調査やオリジナルの状態に復元する作業を行っている。８日の記者会見では、作業の第１段階の報告が行われた。
　現在の「夜警」は縦３．６メートル、横４．５メートルだが、１７１５年に新しい展示場所に収まるよう絵の端が大幅に切り取られたことが分かっている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/12/10-08:50）

A sketch that has lain hidden for centuries under the thick layers of paint Rembrandt applied to create The Night Watch offers new insight into the Dutch master's creative process, museum officials said Wednesday.
Hailing a breakthrough in the understanding of Rembrandt's most famous work, Rijksmuseum director Taco Dibbits told reporters: We always suspected Rembrandt must have made a sketch on the canvas before embarking on this incredibly complex composition, but we didn?t have the evidence.
The sketch reveals that the artist initially planned to paint feathers on one militiaman's helmet, and that he decided against including a sword that he had drawn between the two main figures.
On the sketch, the feathers are clearly visible, on the painting not, said Pieter Roelofs, the Amsterdam museum's head of paintings.
Why did Rembrandt change his mind? ... We don't know, he said. But probably he removed the feathers because they drew too much attention as Van Cruijsbergen (the militiaman) is in the centre of the painting.
Around 30 experts have been working on the 1642 masterpiece for two and a half years using cutting-edge imaging techniques and computer technology.
At Wednesday's news conference, the Rijksmuseum unveiled the findings of a first phase of the project aimed at understanding the artist's technique as well as restoring the massive work to its original brilliance.
It is fascinating to see Rembrandt searching for the right composition of the work, which is 3.8 metres high and 4.5 metres wide (12.5 x 14.8 feet) and weighs 337 kilos (740 pounds), Dibbits said. We have discovered the genesis of 'The Night Watch'.
- Historic restoration -
Rembrandt van Rijn painted The Night Watch in 1642 after a commission by Frans Banninck Cocq, the mayor and leader of Amsterdam's civic guard, to depict the officers and other members of the militia.
Since the project kicked off in July 2019, millions of visitors have been able to observe the historic restoration work in real time at the Rijksmuseum, where it is protected by a glass casing in the centre of the museum's main gallery.
The painting has suffered many travails over the centuries.
In 1715, large chunks of the work were sliced off the edges so that it could fit into a new venue.
Thanks to a reconstruction based on a small 17th-century copy, the missing sections were restored to the work using artificial intelligence earlier this year.
The painting was stabbed by a man with a knife in 1911, was hidden in a bunker when Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands, then was slashed by another knifeman in 1975 and sprayed with acid in 1990.
The current multi-million-euro Operation Night Watch is the most extensive research and restoration project to tackle the masterpiece.
In the next phase, which kicks off on January 19, experts will study deformations in the painting's upper left corner.
They will also decide whether to carry out a complete or partial restoration.
In many areas the paint is still in an excellent state, the museum said in a press release, adding that other areas are in poor repair... It is more than likely.. that the removal of varnish in the past led to the dissolving of paint at some locations.
Roelofs told the news conference: The condition of the painting is what you would expect from an almost 400-year-old painting, but nowhere does the condition set alarm bells off.
Meanwhile, also on Wednesday the Dutch government said it would contribute 150 million euros ($170 million) to bring a Rembrandt self-portrait set to be sold by the Rothschild family back to the Netherlands.
Paris had said Tuesday that it would allow a sale on the open market even though the 1636 work titled The Standard-Bearer and valued at 165 million euros is classed as a national treasure in France.
If the Dutch parliament approves the 150 million euros of public cash, the Rembrandt Association would add 15 million euros to the pot and the Rijksmuseum would fund 10 million.