Ernst van de Wetering

Van de Wetering was the voice of dissent when it came to the significance of light in Dutch 17th-century painting. He doubted that it was a factor at all and said there were as many kinds of light as there were ways of painting. It was not a question of light, he added, but of a painter's methods and style. He also wrote several academic papers debunking the myth that Claude Monet painted only with natural light.

In 2006, in celebration of Rembrandt's 400th birthday, van de Wetering was quoted by the Associated Press saying: "My hope for the Rembrandt year would be that somehow we would become free of images, that we look with fresh eyes. So much research has been done, and so little of this research has come to the knowledge of the general public."

A Festschrift in his honor was published in 2005: Marieke van den Doel, Natasja van Eck, Gerbrand Korevaar, Anna Tummers, Thijs Weststeijn (editors): The Learned Eye—Regarding Art, Theory, and the Artist's Reputation: Essays for Ernst van de Wetering. Amsterdam University Press, 2005, .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#3a3;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}ISBN 90-5356-713-5.

In 2003, van de Wetering was presented with the College Art Association/American Institute for Conservation Joint Award for Distinction in Scholarship and Conservation at Oxford University, where he has been a frequent guest lecturer. He was Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion, and recipient of the Silver Museum Medal of the City of Amsterdam.

He was Slade Professor of Fine Art at Oxford for 2002–03.

In 1990, he succeeded Josua Bruyn as chair of the Rembrandt Research Project, the team of scholars that is charged with tracking down Rembrandt's works, authenticating them and, when needed, conserving the paintings. As of 2015, the project had published six volumes on Rembrandt's work, the known Rembrandts, and the techniques used by the painter.

Ernst van de Wetering was born in Hengelo. He was first trained as an artist at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague. He received his doctorate in art history from the University of Amsterdam in 1986. Between 1964 and 1968, he worked as a scientific illustrator of microscopic preparations at the Zoological Museum in Amsterdam. From 1968, he was a member and later became chairman of the Rembrandt Research Project. He was art historian on the staff of Amsterdam's Central Research Laboratory for Restoration from 1969 to 1987 and, from 1987, was full professor of history of art at the University of Amsterdam. He published extensively on historic painting techniques, as well as in the field of theory and ethics of conservation and restoration.

Ernst van de Wetering (9 March 1938 – 11 August 2021) was a Dutch art historian and an expert on Rembrandt and his work.