The Night Watch

Rembrandt painted The Night Watch in 1642, the year he turned 36. It was commissioned by the Amsterdam militia company of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq, who paid 100 guilders for his place in the painting. The full canvas is roughly 12 by 14 feet, one of the largest group portraits ever painted in the Dutch Republic. The company is shown in motion, not standing in a neat row as was the convention for militia portraits. Captain Cocq strides forward from the center, his hand extended, while his lieutenant walks beside him. Behind them, the other members are loading muskets, raising flags, and drumming. A small girl in a golden dress appears in the lower left, half-hidden among the soldiers. She is not a real person but a symbolic figure, her belt carrying the claws of the company's emblem bird. Rembrandt was at the height of his career in 1642. He had been in Amsterdam for a decade, painting portraits and biblical scenes with a level of drama and psychological depth that no other Dutch artist matched. The Night Watch was his largest and most ambitious commission. He broke with the convention of arranging each face in equal light, instead distributing the figures across a deep, shadowed space with pools of light falling on the key figures. The painting was not called The Night Watch in Rembrandt's time. That name came later, when varnish darkening made viewers think it was a night scene. The company's actual mission was a daytime parade. The painting was cut down on all sides in 1715 to fit a smaller wall in Amsterdam's City Hall. The original composition is known from a copy by Gerrit Lundens, which shows the full painting with two more figures on the left and more space on all sides. Oil on canvas, 379.5 by 453.5 centimeters. Rembrandt used his characteristic impasto in the highlights, building the golden light on the lieutenant's uniform with thick ridges of paint. The shadows are thin and dark, allowing the canvas weave to show through. The scale and drama of this painting make it suitable for a large wall in a living room, office, or public space. The 18x24 framed version in a black frame is the most practical choice for home display. The horizontal composition pairs well with wide walls above sofas or mantels. The painting has been in the Rijksmuseum collection since 1808. This is a public domain artwork, sourced from the Rijksmuseum via Wikimedia Commons. We print it on archival matte paper at sizes from 8x10 to 24x36 inches, framed or unframed. The image is printed at full resolution with no cropping.