AMSTERDAM (AP) – Rembrandt van Rijn 's Golden Age leader, The Night Watch, is getting a makeover.

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam announced Tuesday that it was going to restore its most famous painting, starting next year, as part of a project open to the public and searchable online.

Rijksmusem's general manager, Taco Dibbits, said that as of July, the huge masterpiece of the Golden Age would be locked in a room in specially constructed glass, while he was undergoing for the first time a thorough examination of the varnish on the canvas with the help of a precise microscope and other modern techniques. The results will guide the subsequent restoration.

"The restoration techniques we have now are so advanced that we will protect the picture for future generations," he said.

The painting is ready for a little care. The work, which was last restored 40 years ago, is beginning to whitewash some parts of the canvas.

"We want to understand what this change is in order to restore it as best as possible," Dibbits told reporters at a presentation of the restoration project.

The painting of a citizens militia completed in 1642 has suffered in the past.

During the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands by World War II, it was hidden with other valuable works of art in a cave in the city of Maastricht, in the south of the country. In 1975, a man cut him with a knife, leaving 12 scars in the canvas, and in 1990, an attacker sprayed acid on the canvas, damaging the varnish. It only took the restorers a few weeks to repair the damage caused by the acid.

Dibbits said the painting had been retouched many times in the past and later additions were starting to fade.

The next restoration should change all that.

"I think it will be a lot better," said Dibbits. "If you stand nearby, it will look much more detailed, so it will be very special to see, but the restoration process itself will also be very special."

In the past, restorations were often done behind closed doors, but museums are now beginning to open the process to the public.

The Night Watch "belongs to us all," said Dibbits.

"That's why we decided to proceed with the restoration within the museum itself and everyone, wherever it is, will be able to follow the process online."

More than 2 million people visit the Rijksmuseum every year, which has the largest collection of Rembrandt works in the world. The master of the golden age is known for its innovative use of light and rebellious compositions.

The restoration project comes in the year that marks the 350th anniversary of the death of the artist in 1669 and will be part of a "Rembrandt Year" at the museum.

Prior to its restoration, The Night Watch will be part of a major exhibition of all of Rembrandt's museum-owned works – 22 paintings, 60 drawings and 300 of his 1,300 prints.

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