Photographer: Jordi Huisman
Keynote by Katrien Keune
Discover the science behind Rembrandt's Night Watch during Research Day 2025
View the full programme of the SURF Research Day
SURF Research Day is aimed specifically at researchers and research support staff. The event highlights current and future technologies that help to improve and stimulate research.
Operation Night Watch
Imagine you are in charge of the scientific research of one of the most famous paintings in the world. For Katrien Keune it is the everyday practice. Professor Keune leads the scientific research of Rembrandts Night Watch under the name ‘Operation Night Watch’.
During the extensive research into this masterpiece, the most advanced techniques were used, from macroscale imaging to advanced microscopy techniques, and from materials engineering to computer science and artificial intelligence. What does it mean to work with people from all those different fields in one project?
Immense research project
From the thematic perspective of the Research Day - ‘Lights, camera, research!’ – Keune’s keynote speech aptly sheds light on the shadows of the Dutch master's painting. She shares the challenges the scientists and other specialists face in this immense project that takes years to complete.
Keune takes you on the journey that she and her research group are making. How does multidisciplinary collaboration contribute to the work they all do? And what is the role of the research assistant in this endeavour?
What is the role of the research supporter in this venture? Keune takes us on the journey she and her research group go through and tells us about the challenges they face. What is the role of collaboration in the work they are all doing?
The chemistry of art
Katrien Keune is one of the Netherlands' leading researchers at the intersection of art history and the natural sciences. Ever since her PhD research she has been using her chemical expertise to preserve cultural heritage and to enrich and improve art historical interpretation. Her focus is on complex processes in paint. As a professor, Keune hopes to bring the still young field of research into the chemical aspects of paintings and painted objects to maturity, connecting fundamental insights with application-oriented research.
More about Katrien Keune
Dr Katrien Keune is professor by special appointment of Molecular Spectroscopy at the Faculty of Science of the University of Amsterdam. Keune is Head of Science at the Rijksmuseum and is responsible for the scientific research during 'Operation Night Watch'. As a professor, Keune will focus primarily on the application of molecular spectroscopy for the study of historic paints and their degradation.