Rembrandt copied another artist's canine for his famous 'Night Watch'
[September 24, 2025]
By MIKE CORDER
AMSTERDAM (AP) — It didn't exactly take dogged detective work for an art
sleuth in Amsterdam to solve a canine conundrum dating back to the Dutch
Golden Age.
Anne Lenders, a curator at the city's landmark Rijksmuseum, said Tuesday
that it was more or less by accident that she discovered that the
barking dog in Rembrandt van Rijn’s famous “Night Watch” is a
near-identical copy of one that features in a 1619 pen and ink drawing
by fellow Dutch artist Adriaen van de Venne.
“I wasn't looking for this; it was really unexpected,” Lenders said in
the glass room where “Night Watch” is undergoing extensive restoration.
She was visiting an exhibition at the Zeeuws Museum in the southern
Netherlands when her eye fell on a picture of a dog by Van de Venne that
was printed in a book by the poet Jacob Cats. The original drawing —
which turned out to be part of the Rijksmuseum's own vast collection —
was also on display
“The resemblance is so strong that at the very first moment I thought he
(Rembrandt) must have used this,” she added.
That's when the research started: a comparison of Van de Venne's and
Rembrandt's dogs; their pose, even the collar they wear.
“The head turns in exact the same angle with the mouth slightly opened.
... Both dogs have long hair and ears that hang vertical,” said Lenders.
In the “Night Watch,” the dog adds tension to a dark corner of the
crowded composition, crouching and apparently barking near a drummer
called Jacob Jorisz and just behind one of the iconic 1642 painting's
main characters, Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburch.
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The 17th century drawing by Dutch artist Adriaen van de Venne which
inspired Rembrandt when painting a dog in the Night Watch, is shown
on an easel at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Tuesday,
Sept. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
 The discovery is the latest in a
series of revelations to emerge during a yearslong project to
reexamine the 379.5 by 453.5-centimeter (149.4 by 178.5-inch) canvas
using modern techniques. “Operation Night Watch” began in 2019 with
an extensive study of the painting and is continuing with
restoration work that is likely to take years to complete.
“One tends to think, well, it’s been researched so well, we know
everything about it," Rijksmuseum Director Taco Dibbits said. "But
the great thing with great art is that you always keep discovering
things.”
One thing the Rijksmuseum couldn't figure out was exactly what kind
of dog it is, with expert opinions divided between a French or a
Dutch breed. Most likely, the two artists used a little poetic
license.
“We will never have a conclusion on which breed it is,” Dibbits
said. “But it’s definitely very much loved.”
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