400 years after it was painted, 17th-century art reveals THIS secret

Artists like Rembrandt, Leonardo da Vinci are known for their artworks that have stood the test of time and even now, after centuries, continue to fascinate people. They've been scrutinised by hundreds of thousands of people, yet even today, they sometimes throw a doozy: reveal new secrets.

This is exactly what happened with an enormous masterpiece called "The Night Watch". Painted in the 17th-century by artist Rembrandt, it features Dutch civilian soldiers gathered in a darkened room, preparing to march out to defend their city. However, a new research recently uncovered a secret that the painting was hiding for more than 380 years.

Secrets galore

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Rembrandt is known as a master of light and shadow, and for years, the art community knew that the darks of the painting hid details and the guardsmen's bodies. However, as it turns out that is not the only thing the masterpiece was hiding.

As per CNN, recently, conservators used X-ray to peer below the paint and varnish of Rembrandt's "The Night Watch". This was the first evaluation of the painting to combine X-rays, spectroscopy of a paint sample and 3D digital reconstructions, in its almost 400-year history.

It revealed something really unexpected: lead.

They found that under the paint there was a whole layer of lead, and this finding has been detailed in journal Science Advances.

What is lead doing under the painting?

This is a never-before-seen detail when it comes to Rembrandt's art. He and his contemporaries are known to use a layer of glue to stiffen the canvas before proceeding to the 'ground layer' — a base coat of the underlying pigment.

However, this one doesn't have that signature glue layer. Instead, it has lead. Apparently, artists sometimes used a lead-saturated layer to better protect the canvas.

The researchers speculate that upon the painting's completion in 1642, it hung in Amsterdam’s Kloveniersdoelen — a musketeers’ shooting range, where it would have been vulnerable to damage from moisture.

(With inputs from agencies)