Facts about The Night Watch
- 09
During the 2019-2021 restoration, conservators discovered that Rembrandt had painted a dog and a chicken in the lower portion of The Night Watch, details invisible for centuries beneath accumulated grime and varnish.
- 08
Rembrandt used lead-based white paint in The Night Watch that darkened significantly over centuries, causing the painting's appearance to shift dramatically until the 2019-2021 restoration revealed its originally brighter palette.
- 07
Rembrandt's 1642 masterpiece hung in the Rijksmuseum's main gallery for over three centuries before conservators discovered the artist had originally titled it The Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banning Cocq.
- 06
Over 100 figures crowd the composition of The Night Watch, with Rembrandt's use of chiaroscuro technique creating the illusion of night despite the painting's misleading title from the 18th century.
- 05
A fire at the Rijksmuseum in 1990 caused severe damage to The Night Watch, with arsonist Willem de Kooning slashing the painting and requiring extensive restoration work.
- 04
Rembrandt painted The Night Watch not as a static militia portrait but as a dramatic scene with figures stepping from shadow into golden light, a revolutionary compositional choice that initially confused Amsterdam's patrons expecting a traditional lineup.
- 03
Captain Frans Banning Cocq, the painting's central figure in black, commissioned Rembrandt around 1642 to immortalize his Amsterdam militia company in this iconic group portrait.
- 02
Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum spent eight months and approximately 2.4 million euros restoring Rembrandt's The Night Watch between 2019 and 2021, removing centuries of varnish and dirt to reveal the original colors.
- 01
In 1642, Rembrandt's The Night Watch measured approximately 363 by 437 centimeters, making it one of the largest paintings in the Dutch Golden Age.