# The Nightwatch \(detail\) [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [REMBRANDT Harmenszoon van Rijn]() - Date: 1601-1650 - Technique: Oil on canvas ## Commentary The name "Night Watch" is wrong and based on an erroneous interpretation of the lighting: the only reason the picture looked like a night scene was that the numerous layers of varnish had darkened. It is however a daytime scene with natural illumination and Rembrandtesque chiaroscuro. Disputed interpretations have been triggered by the brightly lit girl, who is regarded as a market stallholder. Rembrandt hit upon the idea of representing her so to speak as the allegorical embodiment of the guild. On her belt she is carrying a chicken, whose claws are visible, while the head is concealed. The emblem of the guild consisted of a claw and a musket. The "Kloveniers", the arquebusiers, were named after the "kloven", or butt, of the arquebus or musket, and the claw is a pun on their name \(clawveniers\). The girl is additionally carrying the guild's costly drinking horn, something that can only be explained by her allegorical function. Thus, what we have is a scenic event picture with historical portraits and the allegorical representation of the guild as a corporate institution. ## Related artworks - [A black drummer and commander mounted on mules; riding in profile]() - [A child being taught to walk]() - [A cottage beneath trees]() - [A girl sleeping]() - [A Man Laughing]() - [A man making water]() - [A Peddler Selling Spectacles \(The Allegory of Sight\)]() - [A Polish Nobleman]() - [A Scholar]() - [A two-humped camel]() - [A woman in Zeeland costume, from the back]() - [A woman in Zeeland costume, from the front]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()