New LED illumination
What allows LED displays to function and create color?
The Night Watch
On 26 October 2011, the Rijksmuseum unveiled new, sustainable LED lighting for "The Night Watch". With new technology, it is the first time LED lighting has been able to render the fine nuances of the painting's complex color palette. The lighting was developed by Philips Lighting and was inaugurated by Rijksmuseum Director Wim Pijbes and Philips President and CEO Frans van Houten. Rogier van der Heide, Chief Design Officer at Philips Lighting, was responsible for creating the system. The new illumination uses LED lights with a color temperature of 3,200 kelvins, similar to warm-white light sources like tungsten halogen. It has a color rendering index of over 90, which makes it suitable for the illumination of artifacts such as "The Night Watch". Using the new LED lighting, the museum saves 80% on energy and offers the painting a safer environment due to the absence of UV radiation and heat.