Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq, Known as the ‘Night Watch’

Rembrandt's largest and most famous painting was made for one of the three headquarters of Amsterdam's civic guard. These groups of civilian soldiers defended the city from attack. Also known as The Shooting Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch. By the late 18th century the multiple layers of varnish Rembrandt applied to the painting had darkened to such an extent that people thought the canvas depicted a night scene, therefore the painting is commonly referred to as The Night Watch (Dutch: De Nachtwacht).