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The Night Watch Is Not a Night Scene: Rembrandt's Painting Explained
Rembrandt's most famous painting shows a militia company in daylight, was cut down to fit a wall in 1715 and only got its name more than a century after it was painted.
Image not reproduced
The Night Watch
Schutters van wijk II onder leiding van kapitein Frans Banninck Cocq
- Artist
- Rembrandt van Rijn
- Date
- 1642
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 379.5 × 453.5 cm
- Location
- Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, AmsterdamInventory no. SK-C-5
Rembrandt's monumental group portrait of the militia company of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq, painted in 1642 for the Kloveniersdoelen in Amsterdam. Cut down in 1715 and named only in the late 18th century, it is now the centrepiece of the Rijksmuseum.
Historical context
Interpretation
Its familiar name dates from the late 18th century, when dark varnish made the daylight scene look nocturnal.2
Symbols and meanings
- The darknessEstablished fact
- Not night: aged varnish darkened the daylight scene.Night Watch (painting by Rembrandt)
- The missing stripsEstablished fact
- Cut away in 1715; known from a copy by Gerrit Lundens.How AI Is Helping Preserve History
Sources
- 1Rembrandt van Rijn, Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq ('The Night Watch'), SK-C-5. Rijksmuseum
- 2Night Watch (painting by Rembrandt). Encyclopaedia Britannica
