The Story of Rembrandt's "The Night Watch"

In 1642, Rembrandt van Rijn was commissioned by Amsterdam's mayor and civil guard captain Frans Banning Cocq to paint a group portrait of his militia company. This painting is now regarded as one of the most important works in art history and hangs in a gallery specially designed for it at the Rijksmuseum.

Although the painting contains 34 figures, only 16 of them are actual members of the guard, and each of them paid 100 Dutch guilders for their place in the portrait. At the center of the painting stand the two most important officers – Captain Banning Cocq and his lieutenant, Willem van Ruytenburch. The former wears a red sash, the latter a yellow hat. Rembrandt painted the other men as if they were preparing to head out on watch – readying their muskets and pointing into the distance, beyond the edges of the frame.

Rembrandt also added a few details, several symbols associated with the guard and its musketeers. Behind Banning Cocq stands a woman carrying the guard's ceremonial goblet, while in the background a young lieutenant waves the guard's flag.

In those days, it was common for civil guards and other militia companies to commission group portraits to hang in their headquarters. Many Dutch masters, such as Frans Hals, painted portraits of this kind. Yet Rembrandt's work surpasses them all in scale – the figures on the enormous canvas are nearly life-sized. In fact, the composition was originally even larger, but in 1715 it had to be trimmed when it was moved from the civil guard's headquarters to Amsterdam's town hall.

Although Rembrandt's masterpiece is now known as "The Night Watch," the painting's original title is unknown. It acquired this name because it had become covered in a layer of dark varnish, making the scene appear as though it took place after dark. In the 1940s, the varnish was cleaned away, revealing that the action actually takes place during the day, as the guard steps out of a dark building into daylight – yet the title never changed.

From the 17th century to the 19th century, the painting changed locations several times, but in 1885 it found a permanent home in the newly built Rijksmuseum, where it can still be seen today.