The Night Watch by Rembrandt – Facts & History about the Painting The Three Trees Rembrandt painted The Night Watch in 1642 and is known as one of his most famous paintings. It is also been recognized as one of Rembrandt’s most debatable and controversial works of art. The Night Watch is the largest painting (at 142.9 in x 172.0 in) in Rembrandt’s line of work. The light and dark contrast in the military portrait is very well recognized. The captain of the civic militia guards and 17 of its members are thought to have commissioned the painting and paid Rembrandt 1,600 guilders to paint The Night Watch. This was considered a great deal of money in that era. There are thirty-four figures that appear in The Night Watch. The painting is an oil painting on a canvas that depicts militiamen lead by Willem van Ruytenburch and Frans Banning Cocq, located in the front area of the painting. At the time of the painting of The Night Watch, it was very common for militia units to commission painters for their portraits.

At this time in history the 30 Years’ War from 1618-1648 was halfway through, and it was a time when the Netherlands sought independence from Spain. In the painting, the mayor of Amsterdam and Captain Franz Banning Cocq are seen standing next to the lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburch. The light of the painting shines mostly on Cocq and Ruytenburch with them being the main focal point and the rest of the men surrounding them. Also in the light, a little girl clothed in yellow is seen behind Cocq. The eye is naturally led to these three main characters shining out of the crowd. This is because of the sunlight and shadow features that Rembrandt uses in the most effective ways in the painting. Behind these three characters is the ensign whose name is Jan Vissher Cornelissen. He carries the company’s colors with him in the painting. There were changes made to the first painting such as cutting it to fit into the town hall in Amsterdam in 1715. All four sides of the painting were cut before moving it to the town hall and later the painting was again moved to Trippenhuis or what was later called Rijksmuseum.

In 1939 when World War II began, it was moved to Medemblik, and rolled into a cylinder form. The painting was brought back to Rijksmuseum when the war ended. Considering the very large size of the painting, and how many times it was moved, it remained in astonishing condition. The Night Watch is also known to have recovered from at least two vandalism attacks. One of the attacks occurred in 1975 when someone left zigzag marks by using a butter knife on the painting. Another horrible incident occurred in 1990 by a man spraying acid on this great work of art. The painting still shows some of the zigzag marks even though the painting has been fully restored. The Night Watch painting is today displayed in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam in the Netherlands and is considered to be the most famous painting displayed there. 2 responses to “The Night Watch” The Night Watch – Rembrandthuis The Night Watch The Night Watch The seventeenth century saw an unparalleled output of art in the Republic of the United Provinces. The number of paintings and prints produced during this period is staggering, and very many of them are of outstanding quality.

Perhaps the most famous painting is the work by Rembrandt known as The Night Watch. It is a group portrait of a militia company. These were groups of able-bodied men who, if the need arose, could be called upon to defend the city or put down riots. The painting depicts the company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq and his lieutenant, Willem van Ruytenburgh, surrounded by sixteen of their men. A shield above the gate bears the names of the eighteen people in the portrait, who paid for the work. The other people who appear in the painting were added by Rembrandt with an eye to enhancing the composition. He must have been given the commission in 1639 or soon afterwards. It is no coincidence that Rembrandt bought an expensive house at precisely this time. The militiamen met at fixed times in the Kloveniersdoelen. This was the range where they practised. It was decided to commission six large militia pieces and a group portrait of the officers for the main hall of the building. Rembrandt was commissioned to paint one of the six large works. He decided on an audacious composition. The men are in action, busy forming up.

The way that Rembrandt has arranged the figures creates immense vitality. This is reinforced by the striking use of light and shade. The men appear to be emerging from a dark gateway into the light. The girl to the captain’s left is in full light. She symbolizes the Kloveniers. The claws of the chicken hanging from her belt refer to the name ‘clauweniers’. She clasps the Kloveniers’ ceremonial drinking horn. Rembrandt, Officers and Men of the Amsterdam Kloveniers Militia, the Company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq, signed and dated ‘Rembrandt f 1642’. Canvas, 363 x 438 cm, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum Rembrandt did not confine himself to a single technique. Some elements are worked out in minute detail, while in other places he seems to have applied the paint very thickly. Technically it is a masterly piece of work. The captain’s hand, for instance, seems to be coming out of the painting towards the viewer. Contemporaries were very well aware of the quality of this painting.

Rembrandt’s former pupil, the art theoretician Samuel van Hoogstraten, wrote about it in terms of great admiration. He pointed out that the composition and unity were more important to Rembrandt than the individual portraits. He described the work as strikingly ‘picturesque in conception’ and ‘elegantly’ and ‘powerfully’ done. This is what sets this painting apart from the other militia pieces that were made at the same time. Samuel van Hoogstraten also had a criticism. He wished that Rembrandt ‘had put more light into it’. The name Night Watch dates from the eighteenth century, when the painting had already darkened quite considerably. By then, people were no longer sure precisely what it represented. They evidently took it for a night scene. Today Etching demonstration Every day from 10:15 am to 1:15 pm, and from 1:45 pm to 4:45 pm. The demonstrations are free of charge and take place in Rembrandt’s former graphic… Read more » Paint preparation demonstration Every day from 10:15 am to 17:10 pm. These demonstrations are free of charge for visitors to the museum.

In the master’s reconstructed studio, our demonstrators will show… Read more » Rembrandt’s First Paintings: The Four Senses Rembrandt’s earliest known paintings, The Four Senses, a set of four small panels representing sight, hearing, smell and touch, can be seen in the Rembrandt… Read more » Under the Spell of Hercules Segers: Rembrandt and the Moderns 7 October to 8 January 2017 | In collaboration with the Rijksmuseum and the Hercules Segers Foundation This autumn the Rijksmuseum and the Rembrandt House Museum… Read more » Famous Night Watch Painting by Rembrandt Political Art The Night Watch painting by Rembrandt is in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam . As the photo shows, it's a huge painting: 363x437cm (143x172"). Rembrandt finished it in 1642. It's true title is The Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch, but it's better known simply as the Night Watch. (A company being a militia guard.) The composition of the painting was very different for the period.

Instead of showing the figures in a neat orderly fashion, where everyone was given the same prominence and space on the canvas, Rembrandt has painted them as a busy group in action. Around 1715 a shield was painted onto the Night Watch containing the names of 18 people, but only had ever been identified. (So remember if you paint a group portrait: draw a diagram on the back to go with the names of everyone so future generations will know!) In March 2009 Dutch historian Bas Dudok van Heel finally unraveled the mystery of who's who in the painting. His research even found items of clothing and accessories depicted in the Night Watch mentioned in inventories of family estates, which he then collated with the age of the various militiamen in 1642, the year the painting was completed. Dudok van Heel also discovered that in the hall where Rembrandt's Night Watch was first hung, there were six group portraits of militia originally displayed in a continuous series, not six separate paintings as has long been thought.

Rather the six group portraits by Rembrandt, Pickenoy, Bakker, Van der Helst, Van Sandrart, and Flinck formed an unbroken frieze each matching the other and fixed in the wooden paneling of the room. Or that was the intention... Rembrandt’s Night Watch doesn't fit with the other paintings in either composition or color. It seems Rembrandt did not adhere to the terms of his commission. But then, if he had, we'd never have had this strikingly different 17th century group portrait. Find Out More: 10 Most Famous Paintings of all Time – Touropia Travel Experts 10 Most Famous Paintings of all Time Last updated on November 9, 2016 in Culture 27 Comments Every year millions of dollars are spent by art collectors eager to own the world’s most sought after paintings. However, the most expensive paintings are not necessarily the most famous paintings. The most famous ones are generally owned by museums , which very rarely sell them, and as such, they are quite literally priceless. An overview of the most famous paintings of all time, found in museums around the world.

10Birth of Venus flickr/ NunoCardoso The Birth of Venus is a painting by Sandro Botticelli created around 1485–87. It depicts the goddess Venus (or Aphrodite as she is known in Greek mythology) emerging from the sea upon a shell in accordance with the myth that explains her birth. The original location of the painting and its commissioner remain uncertain. Some experts attribute its commission to Lorenzo de’ Medici and the Villa of Castello as the site to which the work was originally destined. Today, the painting is held in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. A Birth of Venus high resolution image can be found here . 9Water Lilies flickr/ griannan Water Lilies (or Nympheas) is a series of approximately 250 oil paintings by French Impressionist Claude Monet. The paintings depict Monet’s own flower garden at Giverny and were the main focus of his artistic production during the last thirty years of his life. The paintings are on display at museums all over the world. The one show above is displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York .

8Night Watch flickr/ romanboed Completed in 1642, at the peak of the Dutch Golden Age, The Night Watch is one of the most famous paintings by Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn. It depicts a city guard moving out, led by Captain Frans Banning Cocq and his lieutenant, Willem van Ruytenburch. For much of its existence, the painting was coated with a dark varnish which gave the incorrect impression that it depicted a night scene, leading to the name Night Watch. This varnish was removed only in the 1940s. The painting is on display in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. A high resolution image of the Night Watch can be found here . 7The Scream flickr/ jaime.silva The Scream is a series of expressionist paintings and prints by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch, showing an agonized figure against a blood red sky. The landscape in the background is Oslofjord, viewed from the hill of Ekeberg, in Oslo. Edvard Munch created several versions of The Scream in various media.

The one shown above was painted in 1893 and is on display in The National Gallery of Norway. It was stolen in 1994 in a high-profile art theft and recovered several months later. In 2004 another version of The Scream was stolen from the Munch Museum, only to be recovered in 2006. 6Girl with a Pearl Earring flickr/ rogiro Sometimes referred to as “the Dutch Mona Lisa”, the Girl with a Pearl Earring was painted by Johannes Vermeer. Very little is known about Vermeer and his works and this painting is no exception. It isn’t dated and it is unclear whether this work was commissioned, and if so, by whom. In any case, it is probably not meant as a conventional portrait. Tracy Chevalier wrote a historical novel fictionalizing the circumstances of the painting’s creation. The novel inspired a 2003 film with Scarlett Johansson as Johannes Vermeer’s assistant wearing the pearl earring. 5Guernica flickr/ rogiro Guernica is one of Pablo Picasso most famous paintings, showing the tragedies of war and the suffering it inflicts upon individuals, particularly innocent civilians.

Picasso’s purpose in painting it was to bring the world’s attention to the bombing of the Basque town of Guernica by German bombers, who were supporting the Nationalist forces of General Franco during the Spanish Civil War. Picasso completed the painting by mid-June 1937. The painting can be seen in the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid . 4The Creation of Adam flickr/ tripleman The Sistine Chapel ceiling, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, at the commission of Pope Julius II, is one of the most renowned artworks of the High Renaissance. The ceiling is that of the large Chapel built within the Vatican in Rome. Central to the ceiling decoration are nine scenes from the Book of Genesis. Among the last to be completed was the Creation of Adam in which God the Father breathes life into Adam, the first man. The Creation of Adam is one of the famous paintings of all time and has been the subject of countless of references and parodies.

3The Last Supper flickr/ xiquinhosilva The Last Supper is a 15th century mural painting in Milan created by Leonardo da Vinci and covers the back wall of the dining hall at the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. It represents the scene of The Last Supper when Jesus announces that one of his Twelve Apostles would betray him. Leonardo began work on The Last Supper in 1495 and completed it in 1498 though he did not work on the painting continuously. Some writers propose that the person in the painting seated to the left of Jesus is Mary Magdalene rather than John the Apostle, as most art historians identify that person. This popular theory was the topic of the book The Templar Revelation (1997), and plays a central role in Dan Brown’s novel The Da Vinci Code (2003). 2Starry Night flickr/ Tasayu Tasnaphun The Starry Night was painted by Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. Although Van Gogh sold only one painting in his life, the aftermath of his work is enormous.

Starry Night is one of his most famous paintings and has become one of the most well known images in modern culture. The painting shows the village of Saint-Rémy under a swirling sky, in a view from the asylum towards north. The cypress tree to the left was added into the composition. Since 1941 it has been in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. A Starry Night high resolution image can be found here . 1Mona Lisa flickr/ Chirag Shah The most famous painting of all time, the Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci during the Renaissance in Florence. He began painting the Mona Lisa in 1503 or 1504 and finished it shortly before he died in 1519. The painting is named for Lisa del Giocondo, a member of a wealthy family of Florence. In 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen by Louvre employee Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian patriot who believed the Mona Lisa should be returned to Italy. After having kept the painting in his apartment for two years, Peruggia was finally caught when he attempted to sell it to the directors of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

Today, the Mona Lisa hangs again in the Louvre in Paris where 6 million people see the painting each year. Related Travel Lists The Night Watch, Rembrandt: Analysis, Meaning The Painting So famous a picture, which in the past has been almost as much abused as praised, has not surpringly triggered an immense amount of analysis, only some of which can be discussed here. Known for its colossal size (roughly 12 feet x 14 feet), the canvas - when compared to earlier copies, like the version (c.1650) by Gerrit Lundens, now in the National Gallery, London - has obviously been trimmed, probably when it was moved to the Town Hall in 1715. About 60 cm, incorporating two background figures and a baby, have been removed from the left side, and lesser amounts from the other three sides. This unbalances the composition (the arch in the background was originally nearer the center) and compresses the figures into too confined a space. In all twenty-six figures are now fully or partially visible, including three children (or dwarves) and small parts of five more figures can just be discerned in the background.

To the right of the arch there is a shield, added later, bearing the name of eighteen of the persons portrayed. According to two of them, who gave evidence on Rembrandt's behalf during the investigation into his financial affairs in 1658, he was paid a total of 1,600 guilders - the sitters contributed an average of 100 guilders each, the sum varying with their prominence in the picture. Inaccurate Title At least since the cleaning of the picture in 1946-7, it has been evident that the scene takes place in daylight, with the sun streaming down from the top left. A further cleaning completed in 1980 showed that the tones are predominantly cool. The traditional title The Nightwatch which dates from the late 18th century, is therefore incorrect but it would be absurdly pedantic to suggest changing it now. Key Figures Demonstrating his mastery of sunlight and shade, Rembrandt leads the eye to the three key characters among the ensemble - the two officers in the centre (from whom the painting gets its original title), and the small girl in the centre left background.

Behind them the company's colours are carried by the ensign, Jan Visscher Cornelissen. The senior and central officer, Captain Franz Banning Cocq (1605-55), is dressed in black with a red sash. His Lieutenant, Willem Van Ruytenburch, is in pale yellow with a white sash, and carries a ceremonial lance. The girl to the left of and behind Banning Cocq acts as a sort of pictorial mascot. She carries the guild's costly drinking horn and, at her girdle, a dead fowl, the prominent claw of which is an emblem of the Musketeers. This bird may also be intended as a pun on the Captain's name. Other Subjects The man in front of the girl is wearing a helmet with an oak leaf, another traditional emblem of the Musketeers or Arquebusiers. Several figures are shown handling their weapons. One pours powder down the barrel of his musket; another, to the right and behind the Lieutenant, is attending to the priming pan; a third - the small figure in a helmet directly behind Banning Cocq - appears to be firing his musket into the air.

Some characters are represented much more distinctly than others, while the eighteen who subscribed are supplemented by almost as many subordinate figures, included by Rembrandt for pictorial effect. Adding these extra subjects also allowed him to make use of his broad repertoire of figure drawing and other studies. A Militia Company Portrait Local militia companies were raised during the 16th century during the Dutch war of Independence, to protect the cities from invasion by the Spanish army active in Flanders. But by Rembrandt's time they were no longer employed in a military capacity except on the borders, and were kept in being purely for symbolic reasons. It seems that the company in Rembrandt's painting is marching out to take part in a shooting match. Various other interpretations of the picture involving illusions to past and contemporary historical events have also been put forward, but they are all now discredited. The meaning of the painting is likely to be purely that of a role portrait, the theme of which is the 'citizen in arms'.

Militia Portrait Transformed Visually, The Nightwatch tranforms the prosaic genre of militia portraiture into an action picture - a work of great movement, dazzling inventiveness and splendour or, as some 19th century critics maintained, a widely over-inflated account of a very ordinary event, or a cross between a portrait and genre painting . It marked at once a revolution in, and the swan song of, the militia company portrait, for shortly afterwards, the demand for these portraits ceased and artists turned to the quieter and more humdrum scenes of the guild portrait and the portrait of the board of hospital governors. (Compare his novel treatment of militia portraits with his treatment of 'dissection portraits' as in his famous Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp (1632, Mauritshuis). Moreover, Rembrandt himself was never to paint such a flamboyant or such a fully Baroque picture again. However, one thing is certain; the painting was a major success at the time, and more than justified his status as one of the best portrait artists in Europe.

The story that it was disliked by those portrayed and that it was the cause in the decline in Rembrandt's contemporary reputation (which did occur to some extent in the late 1640s and 1650s) is a romantic fiction invented in the 19th century. Indeed it is a wonder how this fiction arose, since there is abundant evidence to show that for more than a hundred years after it was painted, The Nightwatch was widely regarded as Rembrandt's most celebrated work. Rembrandt One of the greatest Dutch Realist artists , Rembrandt is famous for his penetrating and powerful portraiture, of both individuals and groups. This, together with his supreme painting skills, his atmospheric handling of light, and his mastery of chiaroscuro, make him one of the best artists of all time .

Most Famous Paintings – List of the World’s Most Popular Painting By: Rembrandt van Rijn Rembrandt’s painting of a city guard led by Captain Frans Banning Cocq moving out is famous for three reasons: its large size of 11’10” x 14’4”, effective utilization of chiaroscuro (light and shadow balance), and its portrayal of motion in what would have been a traditionally static painting. Rembrandt completed the piece at the height of the Dutch Golden Age. Las Meninas , 1656 By: Diego Velazquez Las Meninas, or The Maids of Honor, depicts a room in the Madrid palace of Spain’s King Philip IV. The painting is famous for its complexities regarding reality and illusion. Uncertainty is played out in the relations between the viewers and the figures, as well as between the figures themselves. These complex uncertainties have welcomed much discussion and analysis among critics and scholars. Whistler’s Mother , 1871 By: James McNeill Whistler Whistler painted his mother, Anna McNeill Whistler, when the original model failed to come to the appointment.

The painting was not well-received when he submitted it to the Royal Academy of Art in London for exhibition, but shortly later the public showed much respect and deference for it, quickly restoring Whistler’s honor. By: Vincent van Gogh One of van Gogh’s paintings of Arles at a riverbank not far from the Yellow House he was residing at the time. The night scenery, lighting, and stars provided subjects for his more famous paintings, such as The Starry Night. Dogs Playing Poker, 1903 By: C.M. Coolidge Dogs Playing Poker is the collective name of sixteen oil paintings by C.M. Coolidge. Each painting was commissioned to advertise cigars for Brown & Bigelow. By: Gustav Klimt The Kiss, or Der Kuss, was Gustav Klimt’s most renowned art piece. He was done during the peak of his “Golden Period.” The Kiss depicts a man and woman kissing and embracing, with their bodies cloaked by elegant golden robes. Along with oil paint, gold leaf was used. His use of gold was influenced by a trip to Italy in 1903, after which gold and silver were used often in his art.

La Trahison des Images (Ceci N’est pas une Pipe), 1928-29 By: Rene Magritte La Trahison des Images, or The Treachery of Images, was painted by Magritte in 1928-1929. Below is written: Ceci N’est pas une Pipe, meaning “this is not a pipe” in French. Magritte was trying to make the point that the painting was not an actual pipe, only a representation of one. American Gothic , 1930 By: Grant Wood American Gothic was inspired by the Dibble House in Iowa. Wood saw its Gothic architectural style and decided to paint the house along with the kind of people he imagined might live in it. The painting depicts a farmer and his daughter, both modeled by his dentist and his sister. Each element of the painting was done separately; the models sat separately and were never at the house. By: Pablo Picasso Pablo Picasso’s detest of the Spanish Civil War is manifested in an art piece known as Guernica. The piece was commissioned by the Spanish Republican government to portray the pain and suffering caused by wars. Guernica would become a monumental symbol of anti-war and peace.

By: Jackson Pollock No. 5, 1948 was done on an 8 feet by 4 feet sheet of fiberboard, splattered with brown and yellow paint to give a nest-like appearance. The painting is supposedly abstract; the exquisiteness of how such a painting became so famous would most likely be misunderstood by many people. Famous Paintings Reviewed | Analysis of Art History Masterpieces | Night Watch Tweet Night Watch is not only one of most acclaimed Rembrandt paintings but also one of the most famous artworks in Europe. Officially given the unwieldy title Militia Company of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq, Night Watch is one of 125 surviving civic guard portraits, the most prestigious commission a portraitist could obtain. When Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-69) painted it in 1642, he had been in Amsterdam for over a decade and was considered the most famous painter of the Dutch Golden Age . Rembrandt paintings were in great demand during this era, unlike those of countryman Johann Vermeer, now viewed as the other most prominent painter of the Golden Age. Rembrandt van Rijn.

Militia Company of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq (Night Watch), 1642. Oil on canvas, approx. 12' by 14'. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Militia Company was originally believed to portray a nocturnal guard, earning it the enduring 19th century nickname, Night Watch. After the recent cleaning of Night Watch and Phillips' installation of LED lighting to illuminate it, one can handily see the guardsman standing in dim but daylight spaces. The nickname isn't going anywhere, though. Night Watch portrays the company of kloveniers commanded by Captain Frans Banninck Cocq, who is in the black attire in the left foreground, and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburch, who is distinguished by his partisan, a weapon carried only by officers. The company derived its name from the "klover", a firearm superseded by a musket known as an arquebus. Rembrandt provides other clues that these are kloveniers - under the belt of the brightly illuminated young girl, for instance, is a dead bird whose claws are an attribute of the company. Night Watch was a revolutionary civic guard portrait.

Unlike like the static lineup typical of preceding guard portraits, these guards are in motion. As in other Rembrandt paintings, he uses dramatic light-dark contrasts; here they heighten this sense of activity and accentuate the portraits. Cocq, whose lips are parted, issues an order and the company springs into action: the drummer (right foreground) starts drumming; the ensign raises the standard; and the guards hoist their weapons. The musket is dominant - three guards model how it works; the guard in red (left foreground) is re-loading his; the guard behind the Lieutenant is blowing away residual powder after firing; and the guard behind the Captain is shooting his. Attributed to Gerrit Lundens. Night Watch, c. 1655. Oil on panel, 2' 2" by 2' 10". National Gallery, London. Records indicate the guards were pleased with Night Watch, and that the 16 guards each paid Rembrandt about 100 guilders, depending upon their prominence in the portrait.

A decade after its completion, Rembrandt added a shield (center top) with the names of all 18 people (16 guards, the young girl, and the drummer, hired for the occasion) whose portraits comprise Night Watch. Night Watch was commissioned and designed for the Great Hall of the Kloveniersdoelen, where it hung until it was moved in 1715 to the Amsterdam town hall. After discovering it was too large for its new space, Night Watch was trimmed on all sides to fit into these tighter quarters. Luckily, Captain Cocq had been so enthralled with his portrait that he commissioned a copy of Night Watch for his personal use. Zoom around this Night Watch copy to gain a sense of what the original Night Watch looked like. I learned of new speculation about Rembrandt's Night Watch. Some art historians speculate that Rembrandt included his own self-portrait - he may be the one eyed man sporting a beret and peeking over the right shoulder of the man n the top hat. With all the self-portraits in Rembrandt paintings, he is one of the most recognized figures of the 17th century. Are you persuaded that this is, or might be, him?

Rembrandt van Rijn. Self Portrait as the Apostle Paul. Oil on canvas, 1661. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Survey of the History of Art Curious to learn about famous paintings? You can either peruse all the leading art history textbooks to see what art historians choose ... OR... you can let Masterpiece Cards' art history flashcards do it for you! Each of the 250 famous paintings in the set is reproduced on a 4" by 6" Card; on its reverse are facts and an art historian's commentary about the work. Explore sample Masterpiece Cards , a set of art history flashcards to teach and learn the history of painting! 20 Most Famous Paintings of All Time 20 Most Famous Paintings of All Time 20 Most Famous Paintings of All Time While we are inundated with art day-in and day-out, there are a few special pieces that have transcended time and culture and have slated their place in art history. Below is a gallery of 20 of the most famous paintings of all time - recognizable pieces from the ages that will never be forgotten. 1.

The Mona Lisa Any list of Most Famous Paintings would be incomplete without the mention of the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci. This infamous portrait of Lisa del Giocondo was completed some time between 1503-1519 and currently on display at the Musee du Louvre in Paris. IMG SOURCE: Ibiblio 2. Starry Night Vincent van Gogh has painted countless well-known pieces; however, his painting Starry Night is widely considered to be his magnum opus. Painted in 1889, the piece was done from memory and whimsically depicts the view from his room at the sanitarium he resided in at the time. IMG SOURCE: Spontaneous Derivation 3. The Scream Using oil and pastel on cardboard, Edvard Munch painted his most famous piece, The Scream, circa 1893. Featuring a ghoulish figure that looks like the host from Tales from the Crypt, the backdrop of this expressionist painting is said to be Oslo, Norway. IMG SOURCE: Edvard Munch 4.

Guernica Inspired by the bombing of Guernica, Spain, during the Spanish Civil War, Pablo Picasso completed this most famous piece, Guernica, in 1937. This piece was originally commissioned by the Spanish government and intended to depict the suffering of war and ultimately stand as symbol for peace. IMG SOURCE: Artchive 5. The Persistence of Memory Painted in 1931 by yet another Spanish artist, Salvador Dali's The Persistance of Memory is one of the most recognizable and individual pieces in art history. Depicting a dismal shoreline draped with melting clocks, it is thought that Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity inspired this bizarre piece. IMG SOURCE: Moma 6. Three Musicians At first glance it might look like a collage but Pablo Picasso's famous painting, Three Musicians is actually an oil painting. Completed in 1921, he painted two very similar paintings that are mutually referred to as Three Musicians and can be found in the New York MoMA and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. IMG SOURCE: Own A Painting 7.

A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte Using the unique technique of pointillism, creating a complete image that is made up of only distinct individual dots, the French painter Georges Seurat brings us his most famous piece A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. IMG SOURCE: Wikimedia 8. Girl with a Pearl Earring Considered by some to be the "Mona Lisa of the North," this enchanting painting by the Dutch artist, Johannes Vermeer, features exactly what the title infers - a Girl with a Peal Earring. Completed circa 1665, this piece can now be found in the Mauritshuis Gallery in the Hague. IMG SOURCE: Blogspot by Vermeer 9. Whistler's Mother Whistler's Mother is the truncated name for James McNeill Whistler's very famous portrait originally known as Arrangement in Grey and Black: The Artist's Mother. Painted in 1871, it's one of the few American pieces on this list - although it is owned by a Parisian museum and therefore rarely seen in the states. IMG SOURCE: Daily Art Fixx 10.

Portrait de L'artiste Sans Barbe Although the title isn't very creative, Vincent van Gogh's Self-Portrait without Beard is certainly one of the most notable paintings of all time. While Van Gogh has painted many portraits before, this is the most notable because it's one of the few that depicts him without a beard. Additionally, having sold for $71.5 million in 1998, it is one of the most expensive paintings ever sold. IMG SOURCE: Most Expensive Things 11. The Night Watch In its native Dutch tongue, De Nachtwacht is most popularly referred to in modern culture as The Night Watch. Using oil on canvas, Rembrandt (van Rijn) was commissioned by a militia captain and his 17 militia guards in 1642 to paint their company, in an effort to show off for the French Queen that would be visiting. IMG SOURCE: Rijks Museum 12. The Kiss Easily touted as Gustav Klimt's most famous painting, The Kiss is a realistic yet geometric depiction of a kissing couple, completed in 1908 in Vienna, Austria.

What makes this piece different than the other oil paintings on the list is that it also incorporates gold leaf on canvas (in addition to oils). IMG SOURCE: Artchive 13. Water Lilies French painter Claude Monet painted a series of 250 pieces known as Water Lilies between 1840 and 1926 - it's exactly what it sounds like, 250 paintings depicting a water lily pond from his backyard. While this might not be one individual painting, considering the collection is spread amongst the most renowned galleries of the world, the series is a deserving installment on this list. IMG SOURCE: Ibiblio 14. The Flower Carrier Known in its native tongue as "Cargador de Flores," The Flower Carrier was painted by Diego Rivera in 1935. Widely considered to be the greatest Mexican painter of the twentieth century, Rivera was known for his simple paintings dominated by their bright colors and The Flower Carrier is no exception. IMG SOURCE: Garden of Praise 15.

American Gothic Marking the list as another iconic piece in American art, American Gothic, painted by Grant Wood in 1930 is a dry depiction of a farmer and his Plain-Jane daughter - The Great Depression personified. IMG SOURCE: Harrell News 16. Cafe Terrace at Night Never one for flashy titles, Cafe Terrace at Night (1888) by the ever-prolific Vincent Van Gogh, is one of the most individual depictions of such a mundane setting. Though Van Gogh never signed this piece, he references his famous Cafe masterpiece in many personal documents. IMG SOURCE: Art Gallery 2000 17. The Son of Man The most current piece of all on this list, painted in 1964, is Rene Magrittees The Son of Man. Although it is a self-portrait, his face is largely covered by a floating green apple and contributes to his series of paintings known as the The Great War on Facades. IMG SOURCE: Painting Here 18. No. 5, 1948 Another of the more current pieces, painted by Jackson Pollock in 1948, the impersonally titled No.

5, 1948, though chaotic, is a signature piece of art nonetheless and a revealing insight to the turmoil that was swirling within Pollock. IMG SOURCE: Ibay 19. Bal du moulin de la Galette While the imagery in this painting might not be the most immediately recognizable, having sold for $78.1 million (adjusted price of $127.4 million), French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoires Bal du Moulin de la Galette is one of the most expensive paintings of all time and therefore, one of the most famous. IMG SOURCE: Dotting 20. Dogs Playing Poker Commissioned by Brown & Begelow Cigars in 1903, American painter C.M. Coolidge painted 16 unforgettable images of Dogs Playing Poker for the brand. Spoofed many times in greeting cards and in popular culture, this series of dogs playing cards around a table is widely recognizable and truly iconic. IMG SOURCE: BP BlogSpot We hope you enjoyed our presentation of the 20 Most Famous Paintings of All Time. While you are here at kindly browse our selections of Fine Art Supplies & More.

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BEST-SELLING ART SUPPLIES: The Night Watch by Rembrandt van Rijn click here for a larger image from: "The Legend and the Man," in The World of Rembrandt: 1606-1669 (Time-Life Library of Art), Walter Wallace, New York, 1968, pp. 107-111 Since this celebrated work will always be known by an incorrect title, and since those who have not seen it continue to believe, quite logically, that it is a nocturne Company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenhurch, and not until late in the 18th Century did it acquire the name by which it is now known. Unfortunately, both "Night" and " "Watch" are wrong. The civic guards who are depicted had, by the time Rembrandt painted them, become quite pacific; it was no longer necessary for them to defend the ramparts of Amsterdam or to go out on watches by night or by day.

Their meetings had been diverted chiefly to social or sporting purposes; if they may be said to have any particular destination in the painting, it is perhaps to march into the fields for a shooting contest or to take part in a parade. "Night" is even less apt than "Watch." When the critics and the public attached that word to the painting, the canvas had become so darkened by dirt and layers of varnish that it was difficult to tell whether the illumination Rembrandt had provided in it came from the sun or moon. Not until after the end of World War II was the painting fully restored so that the viewer could get an idea of the brightness it had when it left Rembrandt's hand more than 300 years before. (Upon seeing the refreshed work, journalists promptly re-christened it the "Day Watch.") Rembrandt, possibly more than any other artist, has suffered from the ministrations of picture restorers. The infamous "Rembrandt brown" is their work, not his, and so too is the widespread impression that he was a monotonous colorist who invariably worked with a low-keyed palette.

It is true that the forceful use of chiaroscuro in his paintings, with its emphasis on the mysterious, evocative qualities of shadow, has always disturbed certain critics, and so occasionally has his subject matter. John Ruskin, the 19th Century English art critic and essayist, who had a superb knack for being wrong in just the right words, remarked that "it is the aim of the best painters to paint the noblest things they can see by sunlight, but of Rembrandt to paint the foulest things he could see by rushlight." However even Ruskin, if he had seen a cleaned Rembrandt panel or canvas, might have directed some of his vitriol at the men who applied layer upon layer of toned varnish on the artist's pictures. In the past generation not only the Night Watch but many other Rembrandt paintings have been stripped of their dirty and discolored overlays-with a consequential appraisal by critics of his genius as a colorist. There is an understandable, if not a good, reason why Rembrandt's works were so slathered with varnish.

As he matured he became increasingly free in his technique, using bold strokes, passages of broken color, heavy impasto applied with the palette knife, and areas scumbled with his fingers. This highly personal stlye proved a mystery to most critics of the late 17th and 18th Centuries, who attributed it to laxness or perversity. Rembrandt himself seems to have suggested indirectly that his work was to be observed at a slight distance, so that the intervening space would make his strokes and colors fuse. According to Houbraken, "visitors to his studio who wanted to look at his works closely were frightened away by his saying, 'The smell of the colors will bother you.'" The probability is that Rembrandt was not at all concerned about the smell of fresh paint, which is pleasant to many people, but that he did not care to answer dim questions from his guests. To their credit, it should be recorded 'that there were a few early critics who admired Rembrandt's rough strokes and said so.

In 1700 an English writer on art, John Eisum, published a poem dedicated to "An Old Man's Head, by Rembrant": What a coarse rugged Way of Painting's here, Stroaks upon Stroaks, Dabbs upon Dabbs appear. The Work you' d think was huddled up in haste, But mark how truly ev'ry Colour's placed, With such Oeconomy in such a sort, That they each mutualiy support. Rembrant! thy Pencil plays a subtil Part This Roughness is contriv'd to hide thy Art. One or two theorists of Rembrandt's era agreed that his paintings, in their "coarse rugged Way," would appear more coherent if one stepped back from them, but they noted that a similar coherence could be obtained with varnish. As a result, for more than a century after Rembrandt's death liberal applications of varnish, frequently tinted, were applied to many of his paintings by dealers-and what is even more unfortunate-by collectors. Theoretically, the Night Watch should not have been a candidate for such treatment.

Although it contains some wonderfully rich and complex areas, Rembrandt did not paint it in the freest style he would ultimately achieve. Nonetheless, this masterpiece received its full gallonage of Golden Glow and Toner. In fairness to the varnishers, it must be said that their intention was to protect the paintings from dirt as well as to "improve" certain of them by making the strokes and colors blend. Inadvertently, the varnishers also rendered a great service to the world of art. In 1911, when the Night Watch was still covered with a thick layer of hardened varnish, an unemployed ship's cook went at it with a knife. He seems to have had no reason for this act of apparent madness beyond the fact that the painting was famous and he was not. But its surface coating proved as resistant as glass, and the attacker was unable to cut through it. The Night Watch was commissioned by Captain Barining Cocq and 17 members of his civic guards; that this was the total of Rembrandt's clients for the work is assumed from the fact that 18 names, added by an unknown hand after the painting was completed, appear on a shield on the background wall.

Doubtless the guardsmen expected a group portrait in which each member would be clearly recognizable, although perhaps not of equal prominence; it was often the practice for less affluent or junior members of a group to be represented only by heads or partial figures, for which they paid less than did those who were portrayed full length. The guardsmen, most of whom must have been familiar with Rembrandt's Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp of a decade earlier, may also have foreseen that the artist would not produce a standard, static painting. But none of them could have been prepared for the thunderous masterwork with which they were confronted. The Night Watch is colossal. In its original dimensions it measured approximately 13 by 16 feet and contained not only the 18 guardsmen but 16 other figures added by Rembrandt to give still more animation to an already tumultuous scene. It was by far the most revolutionary painting Rembrandt had yet made, transforming the traditional Dutch group portrait into a dazzling blaze of light, color and motion, and subordinating the requirements of orthodox portraiture to a far larger, more complex but still unified whole.

In Rembrandt's hands what was, after all, a commonplace affair became filled with Baroque pictorial splendor, loud with the sound of drum and musket, the thud of ramrods, the barking of a dog, the cries of children. In the forefront Captain Banning Cocq - in black, with a red sash - and his lieutenant in yellow lead the forward drive of the still unformed ranks. The sense of movement is reinforced by converging diagonal lines: on the right, the foreshortened spontoon in the lieutenant's hand, the musket above it and the lance still higher; and on the left, the captain's staff, its line repeated above by another musket and the banner. The effect on the viewer is direct; he feels that he had best get out of the way. The powerful contrast of light and shade heightens the sense of movement, but it is well to regard Rembrandt's use of light in this painting, as in many others, from an esthetic rather than from a strictly logical view- point.

He was, in the phrase of one critic, "his own sun-god." The shadow cast by the captain's hand on the lieutenant's coat might suggest that the sun is at an apparent angle of about 45 degrees to the left, but the shadow of the captain's extended leg indicates quite a different angle. The picture was of course composed and painted indoors, not while the officers posed for him out of doors, and although his lighting in any particular detail may be true to nature, that is not the case overall. He regulated and manipulated light-opening or closing the shutters in his studio-for his own purpose, which was to create an atmosphere both dreamlike and dramatic. The Night Watch lies at the center of the most persistent and annoying of all Rembrandt myths. As recently as the tourist season of 1967, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines featured the painting by their illustrious countryman in an advertisement inviting travelers to visit Holland.

"See Night Watch," said the advertisement, "Rembrandt's spectacular 'failure' (that caused him to be) hooted ...down the road to bankruptcy." The myth has been attacked by various critics, and a few years ago it was utterly demolished by Professor Seymour Slive of Harvard in Rembrandt and His Critics. But since the tale has a phoenix-like capacity for self-resurrection, a few of Professor Slive's observations will bear repeating here. The painting was not poorly received; no critic during Rembrandt's lifetime wrote a word in dispraise of it. Captain Banning Cocq himself had a watercolor made of it for his personal album, and a contemporary oil copy of it by Gerrit Lundens, now owned by the National Gallery in London, offers further proof of the picture' s popularity. The Night Watch was never hidden in some obscure location; it was first hung in the Kloveniersdoelen, the headquarters of the civic guardsmen, and in 1715 it was moved to the Amsterdam town hall, as prominent a place as could have been found for it.

(Probably on the occasion of its transferal, but no doubt for reasons of space, the painting was cut down on all four sides. The greatest loss was on the left, where a strip about two feet wide, containing three figures, was removed. Nor did painting this supposed "failure" result in any abrupt withdrawal of patronage; Rembrandt received about 1,600 guilders for the Night Watch, and four years later the Prince of Orange gave him 2,400 for two smaller works. The fable of the Night Watch may owe its stubborn survival to the fact that it is a simple and convenient means of disposing of a complex matter. In 1642 Rembrandt was at the height of his popularity, and thereafter he slowly fell out of public favor, though never to the extent that romantic biographers suggest. What were the reasons for his "decline"? One of them, certainly, was a change in Dutch tastes in art. During the 1640s wealthy citizens, perhaps growing a trifle soft in their security, developed a fondness for showiness and elegance.

They began to prefer the bright colors and graceful manner that had been initiated by such painters as the fashionable Flemish portraitist Anthony van Dyck- who, however fine an artist, lacked Rembrandt' s depth. Rembrandt's use of chiaroscuro dissatisfied them too, and they turned away from an artist who seemed "dark" and-what was perhaps worse-demanded that they devote some thought to what they were looking at. paintings Rijksmuseum reborn: Rembrandt's 'Night Watch' explained - CNN.com Rijksmuseum reborn: Rembrandt's 'Night Watch' explained Bryony Jones, Nav Garcha and Ines Torre Updated 7:06 AM ET, Thu February 5, 2015 Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds.

Image courtesy of Rijksmuseum Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum reopens after massive $489m, 10-year rebuilding program The 'altarpiece' of the cathedral-like Gallery of Honor is Rembrandt's 'The Night Watch' Curator Pieter Roelofs says the painting is 'the Dutch national treasure' Click on the picture above to reveal the artwork's secrets. (CNN) Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum , one of the world's best-known galleries, reopens April 13 after a massive 10-year rebuild. At the heart of the "new" museum is its most treasured painting, " The Night Watch ," a group portrait of one of Amsterdam's local militias, painted by Rembrandt van Rijn in 1642, at the height of the Dutch Golden Age. Read more: Rijksmuseum reopens after 10-year refurb Architect Pierre Cuypers designed the building around the massive masterpiece -- it measures 11 feet by 14 feet -- in 1885, and it is the only work to be returned to its original location in the radically revamped gallery.

"Everything has changed, the only thing that hasn't is 'The Night Watch'," explains Wim Pijbes, the museum's director. "It is the altarpiece of the Rijksmuseum, the whole place is arranged around this beautiful masterpiece." Read More Photos: Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years Photos: Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years – Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum, home to one of the world's greatest art collections, reopens to the public on Saturday April 13, after a mammoth 10-year US$489m renovation project. The exhibits have been reorganized into chronological order, with paintings, furniture and other objects displayed side-by-side to tell the history of the Netherlands. Hide Caption 1 of 16 Photos: Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years – The museum's original entrance hall, designed by architect Pierre Cuypers in 1885, and decorated with opulent wall paintings by Georg Sturm, has been returned to its former glory.

Hide Caption 2 of 16 Photos: Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years – The jewel-like stained glass windows in the entrance hall celebrate great architects, sculptors and painters, including Rembrandt van Rijn, and add to the cathedral-like atmosphere. Hide Caption 3 of 16 Photos: Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years – Contrasting ancient and modern, Spanish architects Cruz y Ortiz reinstated the building's original courtyards, which had been crammed with makeshift galleries for decades, linking them into one huge, bright and airy atrium. Hide Caption 4 of 16 Photos: Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years – The museum's collection of one million objects, some 8,000 of which are on display at any one time, span 800 years, from the Middle Ages to modern artist Piet Mondrian, and including this 1887 self portrait by Vincent Van Gogh.

Hide Caption 5 of 16 Photos: Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years – This painted terracotta statue of the "Mater Dolorosa," or "Our Lady of Sorrows" (c.1500-1510) is among the new acquisitions collected while the museum was closed to visitors. Hide Caption 6 of 16 Photos: Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years – At the heart of the gallery is its most-prized possession, "The Night Watch," by Rembrandt van Rijn (1642). The museum was designed around the painting, and it is the only artwork to be returned to its original place. Hide Caption 7 of 16 Photos: Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years – Turner Prize-winning British artist Richard Wright was commissioned to create a new installation, featuring more than 47,000 black stars, in dizzying patterns on the ceilings of the rooms to the sides of "The Night Watch".

Hide Caption 8 of 16 Photos: Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years – The Rijksmuseum is also home to several works by Johannes Vermeer -- "The Milkmaid" (1658-1660) is among those taking pride of place in the church-like Gallery of Honor. Hide Caption 9 of 16 Photos: Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years – Pictures are hung on walls painted in shades of gray, the colors chosen so that they does not distract from the artworks themselves. Hide Caption 10 of 16 Photos: Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years – In the 20th Century galleries, Fritz Koolhoven's FK 23 Bantam plane sits alongside a painting by Piet Mondrian, both items considered the height of modernity in their era.

Hide Caption 11 of 16 Photos: Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years – Disturbing periods of Dutch history are also acknowledged. These facial casts of Nias Islanders, made by anthropologist J.P. Kleiweg de Zwaan as part of his studies of racial "types" are displayed alongside a concentration camp uniform and a chess set given as a gift by Nazi Heinrich Himmler. Hide Caption 12 of 16 Photos: Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years – The museum's special collections, of weapons, fashion and jewellery, Dutch porcelain and musical instruments are displayed in the crypt-like basement. Here, a fleet of model ships sail across the room. Hide Caption 13 of 16 Photos: Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years – An entirely new annexe, the Asian Pavillion, has been built to house the museum's collection of art from China, Japan, Indonesia, India, Vietnam and Thailand.

Hide Caption 14 of 16 Photos: Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years Rijksmuseum reopens after 10 years – Another highlight of the "new" museum is its ornate four-story library, complete with vertiginous spiral staircase, which has never been open to the public before. Hide Caption

Question: Who painted the famous painting known as "The Night Watch"?
Answer: Rembrandt