Description
The Night Watch, also known as “Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq,” or as “The Shooting Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch,” was created in 1642, and commissioned by the Captain Banninck Cocq. It uses a distinct style known as tenebrism, and uses the perception of motion in what would have been traditionally, a static military group portrait. It came upon the name as Night Watch, as it was originally mistaken for a night scene due to the layers of dirt and grime found on the painting – but that is the complete opposite of what this painting is about.
