Art Attack

We ended up in Rembrandt Sq today and as the name suggests it's the home of a statue of the famous Dutch artist. As part of the celebration of the artist's 400th birthday in 2006, a bronze-cast representation of his most famous painting, The Night Watch was displayed around the main statue of Rembrandt.

The painting has a history of violence against it and it seems the wee boy here is continuing the tradition all be it to the bronze version.

The painting was attacked with a bread knife by an unemployed school teacher on September 14, 1975, resulting in several large zig-zagged slashes. It was successfully restored after four years The man was never charged and committed suicide in a mental institution in April 1976.
On April 6, 1990, a man sprayed acid onto the painting with a concealed pump bottle. Security guards intervened and water was quickly sprayed onto the canvas. The acid had only penetrated the varnish layer of the painting and it was fully restored.