The Night Watch: A Suspicious Face in the Shadows

Rembrandt van Rijn’s The Night Watch (1642) is widely regarded as a masterpiece of the Dutch Golden Age. It is celebrated for its technical brilliance, dramatic use of chiaroscuro, and innovative composition. But beyond the well-studied elements of lighting and movement lies a quieter mystery: could this painting contain what we might now call the first photobomb?

The Painting

Officially titled Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banning Cocq, The Night Watchmeasures an imposing 3.6 by 4.4 metres. It was commissioned by members of Amsterdam’s civic guard and forms part of a broader tradition of 17th-century Dutch group portraits. However, Rembrandt broke with convention. Rather than arrange the guardsmen in a rigid, front-facing formation, he portrayed them in the midst of dynamic action, as though caught just before a parade or public demonstration.

Rembrandt van Rijn, The Night Watch, 1642, oil on canvas, 379.5 x 453.5 cm (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam)

The composition is complex and theatrical. A bold use of light and shadow draws immediate attention to Captain Banning Cocq, clad in black with a red sash, and his lieutenant, Willem van Ruytenburch, dressed in pale yellow. Behind and around them, a crowd of militia members, some partially obscured, others rendered in finer detail, contributes to a lively sense of movement. The inclusion of symbolic figures, such as the young girl carrying a dead chicken (likely a reference to the guard’s emblem), adds layers of meaning.

Despite its name, the painting does not depict a night scene. The dark appearance resulted from the accumulation of varnish and grime over centuries, which dulled the colours and deepened the shadows. Cleaning campaigns in the 20th century restored much of the original brightness, revealing that the scene is set during the day.

A Suspicious Face in the Shadows

The identities of the primary figures are well-documented. Around 1715, a shield was added to the canvas listing the names of 18 paying members of the militia. These men each contributed financially to the commission and were portrayed accordingly. However, not everyone in the painting appears on the list

Rembrandt included several additional figures beyond the paying sitters. These unlisted individuals serve both compositional and narrative purposes, fleshing out the sense of scale and activity within the company. Most of them are understated—faces partially obscured or buried in shadow. But one, in particular, stands out: a man in a dark beret, peering out from behind the helmeted figure near the centre-right of the canvas..

Rembrandt’s self-portrait—just one eye and a beret? (detail), Rembrandt van Rijn, The Night Watch, 1642, oil on canvas, 379.5 x 453.5 cm (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands)

This face, more clearly rendered than others in the background, has long provoked speculation. Could it be a hidden self-portrait? A sly insertion of the artist into the action?

Artists and Cameos: Not a New Trick

The idea of Rembrandt placing himself in The Night Watch is not implausible. Self-portraiture was central to his practice. He produced nearly one hundred known self-images across painting, drawing, and print, exploring themes of identity, expression, and artistic presence. The act of embedding oneself in a larger composition was not new, artists such as Jan van Eyck and Diego Velázquez had done so before. For Rembrandt, who often played with costume and theatrical presentation in his self-portraits, this might have been a natural extension of his artistic persona.

Given that he was not one of the paying sitters, including his own likeness would have been one of the few ways he could personally appear in the painting. Such a cameo would not have been financially motivated but could have served as a subtle act of authorship or presence.

Or Just the Drummer?

Despite the speculation, most modern scholarship does not support the theory that this figure is Rembrandt. Dutch art historian and genealogist Bas Dudok van Heel, who spent decades researching the identities of The Night Watch's figures, proposed a more straightforward answer. According to his archival research, published in The Rijksmuseum Bulletin, the figure is likely Jacob Jorisz, the company's drummer.

Van Heel’s findings are grounded in detailed analysis of historical documents, estate inventories, and costume studies. His work successfully matched the 18 named militiamen with corresponding figures in the painting, and the remaining characters, he argued, represent essential but unpaid roles within the guard. The drummer, often present in group portraits of the time, was one such role.

The man's prominent placement and relatively vivid rendering may reflect his importance in the group rather than an artistic self-reference. His inclusion adds to the sense of realism and scale but is likely not autobiographical.

A Face that Eludes and Endures

Whether or not the man in the beret is Rembrandt himself, the speculation continues to resonate. His face is strangely expressive, alert, almost knowing, and more vividly painted than many others in the crowd. It is this ambiguity, combined with Rembrandt’s known interest in identity and self-image, that keeps the theory alive.

In the end, the so-called “photobomber” may simply be a drummer, a necessary member of the civic militia. But his enigmatic presence has become one of the painting’s many compelling details, an unresolved footnote in an otherwise well-documented masterpiece.