As well as holding the world’s largest collection of Rembrandt paintings – including The Night Watch – the Rijksmuseum says its collection is the ‘world’s most comprehensive and representative overview of Rembrandt’s painting oeuvre’.

Experts estimate Rembrandt (1606 to 1669) made over 300 paintings in total. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has 11, while the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague has nine.

Next year’s exhibition, the museum says, is a ‘once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to glean an unparalleled perspective on Rembrandt the artist, the human, the storyteller and the innovator.’ It will be accompanied by an extensive programme of lectures, workshops and events.

Work will start on restoring The Night Watch in front of the public after the end of this exhibition.