The History and More...

The Night Watch was painted by Rembrandt in 1642 during the Dutch Golden Age. The original name of the painting is actually called De Nachtwacht. It was painted with oils on a canvas and has been recognized as one of Rembrandt's most famous works of art. On top of that, it is also one of Rembrandt's most controversial paintings. With the dimensions of 142.9 in × 172.0 in, Night Watch just so happens to be the largest painting done by Rembrandt. Not only is the painting recognized for its massive size, it is also known for the contrasts of light and darkness as well being a military portrait.

The painting was originally hung in the Great Hall at the Kloveniersdoelen in Amsterdam which is now the Doelen Hotel. There have been several alterations to the original painting that was done. In 1715, the painting was cut on all four sides to fit the new location that it was to be moved to, the Amsterdam town hall. Then it was moved to the Trippenhuis which became the Rijksmuseum. The painting was moved again when the new Rijksmuseum was finished in 1885. When World War II broke out in 1939, the painting was moved to a castle in Medemblik where it was rolled around a cylinder. After the war had ended, the painting was brought back to the Rijksmuseum. For a painting of that size to have been moved so many times, it is still in amazing condition.

Speaking of amazing condition, the painting survived two major acts of vandalism. In 1975 the painting was vandalized with a butter knife leaving zigzag markings on the painting. In 1990, acid had been sprayed onto the painting by a man attempting to. Although it has been fully restored, the zigzag marks can still be seen to this very day.

Inside of the painting, Rembrandt painted the mayor of Amsterdam, Captain Franz Banning Cocq. He is standing next to his lieutenant, Willem van Ruytenburch. They are placed in the forefront of the painting and they are both placed in the light of the painting. Cocq is dressed in black with a red sash and van Ruytenburch is dressed in yellow with a white sash. The two men are the overall focal point of the painting and they are surrounded by the rest of the men. These men are musketeers. Along with the two men, there is a little girl that is in the light. She is dressed in yellow and she is behind Cocq.