Artificial intelligence has allowed the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam to recreate parts of the iconic "Night Watch" painting that were cut 70 years after Rembrandt finished it. The painting was transferred in 1715 to the Amsterdam City Hall (now the Royal Palace on Dam Square) but as it was too big they decided to cut the edges to fit it, taking a piece of the work with them. Now, it has returned to its original state thanks to AI.
The printed strips now hang flush with the edges of the painting in the museum's Gallery of Honor.
The two main characters in the painting, Captain Frans Banninck Cocq and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburch , occupy a central place in the cut painting. With the original addition, particularly a strip to the left of the painting depicts the two men and makes it clear that a child is looking over a balustrade, thus shifting the main figures to the right.
In the reconstruction process, 51 TB of data have been collected from the different imaging techniques used to study the painting. Added 64.4 centimeters to the left, 7 centimeters to the right, 23.3 centimeters at the top and 11.3 centimeters at the bottom.
