10 things about Rembrandt’s Night Watch

Originally the painting had no title. We use Civic Guardsmen of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq, known as the ‘Night Watch’ as the official title. The title Night Watch is first used in a document in 1797.

We know he got the commission before December 1640, because of the death of one of the painted guardsmen. The painting was finished 1642. So it took him at least one year, but probably longer.

In 1911 the Night Watch had been attacked with a knife. This happened again in 1975 when someone inflicted 12 cuts in the canvas. In 1990 a man sprayed acid onto the painting. Due to the rapid intervention of a guard, only the varnish was damaged.

n September 1939, the Night Watch was evacuated from the Rijksmuseum, along with 30,000 other artworks. It was hidden in bunkers near the coast. In 1942, it was moved to a cave in the St. Pietersberg in Maastricht.

In 1715 it was moved to the Town Hall on the Dam, now the Royal Palace.

The biggest piece was cut off from the left side. These pieces have never been found.

It was moved to the other side of Museumplein for a Rembrandt exhibition. This exhibition was part of the celebrations of the inauguration of princess Wilhelmina as Queen of The Netherlands.

The shadow falls on the mantle of Luitenant Willem van Ruytenburch. The coat of arms of the city of Amsterdam is placed between his thumb and fingers. Rembrandt shows that the city is safe in the hands of the militia.

On the left the weapon is being loaded, in the middle the weapon is being fired and on the right someone is cleaning the weapon.

Operation Night Watch is the most extensive and technologically advanced research in the painting's history. This detailed study is necessary to determine the best treatment plan so we can preserve it for future generations.