The Night Watch (the original one!)

No, I'm not speaking about Games of Thrones' Night Watch, but about Rembrandt's, painted in 1642, exposed in Amsterdam, which is one of my favourite paintings.

I remember first seeing that picture in a set of picture cards bought by my father. These picture cards covered most of the most famous paintings in history, since the Renaissance to the Abstract periods. And one of them was Rembrandt's  Officers and other civic guardsmen of District II in Amsterdam, under the command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburch. Yes, it's quite a mouthful, so it's no surprise we remember it mainly as "The Night Watch" ! 

                                         

What attracted me in particular was the fact that I had no idea what was going on in that picture and that you could make up your own story! For example, who was that "little girl" illuminated by a special ray of light... To me, she didn't really look like a young girl, much more like a dwarf, maybe even a witch! Notice the dead poultry dangling at her belt! Was she on some kind of satanic ritual ?

         

              

And you will notice that it is a mess and it's dark! This kind of group portrait is completely different from the normal group portraits Dutch painters used to paint for money. Every character whose face appears here was a real person, was a part of that "Night Watch". 

Usually, they would be displayed aligned, in broad daylight, looking directly at the painter. Rembrandt is breaking things up and decide to show a street scene, maybe even after a brawl, a fight or an arrestation (my favourite theory). After all, there are an awful lot of peaks and guns pointing in a confusing lot of directions!

                                         

The focus is on the two main characters of the band : the captain Frans Banninck Cocq and his lieutenant. They are at the forefront of the action. They look like they have taken action and given their orders and are leaving their men mopping up the scene. 

Frans Banninck Cocq is captured in the middle of a sentence, with his hands opened, as if trying to make sense of the mess they have just uncovered/cleared. (And notice he holds one of his glove in the other hand). His lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburch looks like he listens to him with a safe dose of scepticism, but respect nonetheless.

And last mystery... Who let the dog out ?

                                                       

The thing you don't notice either at first sight is how big this painting is. Of course, the fact that I encountered it as a postcard first didn't help. But when I had the chance to visit Amsterdam and the Rijksmuseum, I was astounded about the size of it! It covered a whole wall! The painting is precisely 379.5 cm × 453.5 cm. I LIVED IN FLATS SMALLER THAN THIS PAINTING IS ! 

I can say in all honesty that meeting with such a beast, and being able to absorb all of its details took me a whole hour, and remains my greatest moment in a museum.