The Night Watch

The Night Watch (De Nachtwacht)

Rembrandt van Rijn · 1642

Collection Rijksmuseum · Amsterdam

Zoom in to the brushstrokes

1642: the figures in this painting come to life

Key Points

A painting bringing together 18 members of a civic militia in a single scene
Rembrandt brought the scene to life through light and shadow
The painting is titled "The Night Patrol," but the scene actually takes place in daylight
The painting was originally not called "The Night Watch" but "The Night Patrol"

Reading the Work

What's Depicted

In 1642, Rembrandt painted an Amsterdam civic militia company. Captain Frans Banning Cocq and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburch stand at the center, with the militia members lined up behind them. The figures in the painting are all real people, their faces and expressions vividly captured.

Into the Painting

Rembrandt used light and shadow to draw the viewer's eye toward the center. It is because of his technique that the captain, the lieutenant, and the girl behind them draw the most attention. In the background of the painting is the ensign, Jan, holding the militia's flag. The girl in the painting has a dead chicken hanging at her waist, symbolizing the tradition of the militia.

Why It's a Masterpiece

This painting shows the Dutch Golden Age at its peak. Rather than a simple group portrait, Rembrandt created a vivid, living scene. His technique inspired many painters afterward, and his style remains alive in painting to this day.

Behind the Painting

The painting's title is not "The Night Watch" but "The Night Patrol"

The painting became widely known under the name "The Night Watch," but its original title was "The Militia Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch." The name "The Night Patrol" was added later, and it was given because the figures in the painting actually appear to be moving in a daytime scene.

Infrared reveals the underdrawing — Operation Night Watch

Since 2019, the Rijksmuseum has been re-examining this painting with scientific equipment under the name "Operation Night Watch." When researchers photographed it using shortwave infrared (SWIR), the brushstrokes of Rembrandt's original underdrawing beneath the paint layers were revealed. Traces of revision invisible in the finished work — the process by which the painter altered the figures' poses and outlines — were confirmed for the first time in 350 years. The research findings have been published in an international journal (Van Loon et al., Sensors 2021, CC BY 4.0).

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Further reading · Smarthistory · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Image: Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Last updated 2026-07-17