(So remember if you paint a group portrait: draw a diagram on the back to go with the names of everyone so future generations will know!) In March 2009 Dutch historian Bas Dudok van Heel finally unraveled the mystery of who's who in the painting. Instead of showing the figures in a neat, orderly fashion, where everyone was given the same prominence and space on the canvas, Rembrandt has painted them as a busy group in action.Īround 1715 a shield was painted onto the 'Night Watch' containing the names of 18 people, but only some of the names had ever been identified. The composition of the painting was very different for the period. Its true title is 'The Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch,' but it's better known just as the Night Watch.
As the photo shows, it's a huge painting: 363x437cm (143x172'). The 'Night Watch' painting by Rembrandt is in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. In the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
