Night Watch
Rembrandt made this large picture for the Kloveniersdoelen (Arquebusiers Assembly Hall), one of the buildings of Amsterdam’s civic guard.
De Nachtwacht
Rembrandt van Rijn
The captain holds a walking stick as a symbol of his authority.
Te zien in de Nachtwachtzaal
De Nachtwacht
Rembrandt van Rijn
Except for this cut above the dog, hardly any trace of the damage done in 1975 can be detected.
Te zien in de Nachtwachtzaal
De Nachtwacht
Rembrandt van Rijn
The brushwork of the drummer’s sleeve is coarser than that of the wood of the drum.
Te zien in de Nachtwachtzaal
De Nachtwacht
Rembrandt van Rijn
It is often said that the militiamen were dissatisfied with the painting, yet there is no record of this.
Te zien in de Nachtwachtzaal
De Nachtwacht
Rembrandt van Rijn
A gun must be cleaned after being fired. Musketeer Jan Claesen Leijdeckers blows the powder out of the pan of his musket.
Te zien in de Nachtwachtzaal
De Nachtwacht
Rembrandt van Rijn
The gunman aims at the red ribbon hanging from the lance at the right.
Te zien in de Nachtwachtzaal
De Nachtwacht
Rembrandt van Rijn
Hidden behind the captain is a militiaman wearing a helmet wreathed with oak leaves.
Te zien in de Nachtwachtzaal
De Nachtwacht
Rembrandt van Rijn
Musketeer Jan van der Heede loads his musket (a light gun) by emptying a cartridge of gunpowder into the barrel.
Te zien in de Nachtwachtzaal
De Nachtwacht
Rembrandt van Rijn
Rembrandt did not portray all of the militiamen at the same time, but one by one.
Te zien in de Nachtwachtzaal
De Nachtwacht
Rembrandt van Rijn
This shield was added around 1653 to record and preserve the identity of the sitters.
Te zien in de Nachtwachtzaal
De Nachtwacht
Rembrandt van Rijn
Rembrandt placed the more important people in the light, such as the ensign here, and minor ones in the shade.
Te zien in de Nachtwachtzaal
De Nachtwacht
Rembrandt van Rijn
The claws and the klover were the symbols of this militia company, the ‘Kloveniers’, and the girl serves as the company’s ‘mascot’.
Te zien in de Nachtwachtzaal
De Nachtwacht
Rembrandt van Rijn
This is the first civic guard painting in which the men are shown in action.
Te zien in de Nachtwachtzaal
De Nachtwacht
Rembrandt van Rijn
Action! This is the first civic guard painting in which the men are shown in action.
Te zien in de Nachtwachtzaal
De Nachtwacht
Rembrandt van Rijn
The execution of this dog, which serves primarily to fill an empty area, is less precise than that of other elements in the painting.
Te zien in de Nachtwachtzaal
De Nachtwacht
Rembrandt van Rijn
That Rembrandt wrestled with the depiction of the partisan is clear to see in this X-radiograph.
Te zien in de Nachtwachtzaal
De Nachtwacht
Rembrandt van Rijn
The captain’s hand casts a shadow on the costume worn by Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburch.
Te zien in de Nachtwachtzaal
De Nachtwacht
Rembrandt van Rijn
With this gesture he orders his lieutenant to call the company into action: the militiamen have to march out.
Te zien in de Nachtwachtzaal
Aan de slag met meesterwerken