Description
Would you be surprised to learn that the title by which Rembrandt’s most famous painting is known is actually false? The Night Watch is not a nighttime scene at all; it actually takes place during the day. This title, which was not given by the artist, was first applied in the late 18th century.
By then, the painting had darkened considerably due to the buildup of many layers of dirt and varnish, making it appear as though the event takes place at night.
Did The Night Watch lead to Rembrandt’s downfall?
A myth has grown around Rembrandt’s apparent fall from grace in connection with this masterful work of art.
Did The Night Watch really lead to Rembrandt’s downfall, as some have claimed?
Perhaps we can examine the painting not for clues to a murder conspiracy, but to see how Rembrandt departed from the conventions of a subgenre that was very popular in the new Dutch Republic: the civic guard portrait, or the Guardroom Scene.
Let’s first talk about its enormous size. The painting’s original dimensions were reduced by cropping. Even cropped, this is Rembrandt’s most masterful composition to date, measuring an enormous 365 x 426 cm.
In this richly nuanced, dark masterpiece, light is used to give the scene an ethereal quality amid the usual bustle of movement and action. We sense something strange, something unreal about the scene, even though the painting is full of noise.
Rembrandt’s The Night Watch is an example of a very specific type of painting that was exclusive to the northern Netherlands, with most commissioned in the city of Amsterdam. It is a group portrait of a company of civic guards. The primary purpose of these guards was to serve as defenders of their cities. As such, they were tasked with guarding the gates, patrolling the streets, putting out fires and, in general, maintaining order throughout the city. They were also an important presence in parades held for visiting royalty and on other festive occasions.
Each company had its own guild hall, as well as a shooting range where members could practise with the weapon associated with their group, whether a longbow, a crossbow or a firearm. According to tradition, these meeting halls were decorated with group portraits of their most distinguished members. This served not only to record the likenesses of these citizens, but, more importantly, to assert the power and individuality of the city they defended. In short, these images helped foster a sense of civic pride and duty.
The painting acquired the name The Night Watch in the 1790s, when its varnish had darkened and become dirty enough to make it appear to depict a mysterious, dusky nighttime scene.
Rembrandt and The Night Watch – from decline to glory
Two factors contributed greatly to Rembrandt’s problems in the second half of the century. The artist became increasingly extravagant: the large house he lived in, the curiosities and antiques surrounding him, and his acquisition of fine art. The other factor had to do with his loose, free handling of paint.
His style was beginning to fall out of fashion. What was emerging was the highly polished kind of “fine painting” practiced by people like Rembrandt’s former student Gerrit Dou, who soon eclipsed his old master in fame and success. Rembrandt had to wait until the rise of the Impressionists before he was, in a sense, “rediscovered” and given his rightful place in art history.
Even after this masterpiece was cleaned of its grimy varnish in 1946, the painting has managed to hold on to the sensational mystery surrounding it.
The Night Watch ranks No. 4 on the list of famous paintings
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