Rembrandt’s Night Watch paint recipe offers clues to the perfect wall filler

Analysis of 17th-century masterpiece by Dulux scientists revealed several ways of creating the perfect impasto

The secrets of Rembrandt's painting technique on The Night Watch remain lost to time for now. But researchers tasked with solving the mystery believe they may at least have gleaned some clues as to the perfect recipe for wall filler.

Scientists at AkzoNobel, the Dutch owners of Dulux paints, have been working since 2019 with conservators at Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum on the restoration of Rembrandt's masterpiece, building a better picture of how the 17th-century painter worked.