“The Night Watch”
For today, one of Rembrandt’s most famous pieces…
This large-scale oil on canvas painting is titled “The Night Watch” or “The Night Watch Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq”. It was painted by the Dutch master, Rembrandt van Rijn, in 1642. He had been commissioned by the Arquebusiers guild hall to decorate the headquarters of the civic guard, which was the policy and city militia.
“The Night Watch” painting is famous for several reasons. First off, it is colossal in size (143 x 172 inches) and takes up the entire wall of the room where it is displayed. With that large size, all the details which are hard to see from an image of the painting are clearly visible. The painting was originally even larger, but in 1715, it was moved to the Town Hall on the Dam. To fit into its new space between two doors, it had to be cropped on all four sides. These four pieces were cut off the canvas and lost to history.
Secondly, the painting exhibits what is known as chiaroscuro, which are strong contrasts between light and dark. This technique was developed by Leonardo da Vinci and made popular by Caravaggio. It is said that the light colors within the painting are so vivid, that it appears to pour out into the room in which it is exhibited. Rembrandt used the light to highlight details in the painting he wanted the viewer to notice.
And thirdly, this painting is not your usual military painting. At the time it was created, it was actually very radical. There is nothing static about the figures. The civic guard are seen in motion, moving into formation to begin their march. The main in black in the foreground is the captain and he is dictating orders to his lieutenant dressed in the pale colors.
Adding to the overall mystique of the painting, it was attacked by vandals on three separate occasions. During the Great War (WWI), an unemployed man, frustrated with trying to find work, attacked the painting with a knife. In 1975, another unemployed man, this time a schoolteacher in training, attacked the painting with a bread knife. Lastly, in 1990, a man sprayed acid onto the painting. Luckily, the painting survived, was repaired, and you can see it to this day.
“The Night Watch” is currently on display at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
For more on Rembrandt van Rijn, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
