What if the secret to one of art’s most iconic masterpieces has been barking at us for centuries? That’s exactly what’s happening with Rembrandt van Rijn’s legendary Night Watch, a 17th-century Dutch masterpiece that’s just revealed a hidden connection to a now-forgotten artist—400 years after its creation. And here’s where it gets interesting: the discovery wasn’t the result of a high-tech investigation, but a happy accident made by a museum curator who was simply flipping through a book.
Anne Lenders, a Dutch curator at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, stumbled upon the clue while visiting an exhibition in the southern Netherlands. Her eye caught a sketch of a dog by Adriaen van de Venne, a contemporary of Rembrandt’s, tucked inside a 1619 book by poet Jacob Cats. The image was so strikingly similar to the canine in the Night Watch that Lenders immediately suspected a link. Using her phone to compare the two side by side, she noticed the same head tilt, the same open mouth, and even the same collar design. 'At first, I thought Rembrandt had to have used this,' she admitted, standing in the museum’s glass room where the Night Watch is undergoing a decades-long restoration.
This revelation adds a fascinating layer to the ongoing Operation Night Watch project, a massive effort since 2019 to study and restore the 379.5 x 453.5-centimeter painting using cutting-edge technology. The project has already uncovered hidden details, like a previously unseen figure and adjustments Rembrandt made to the composition. But this dog? It’s sparking a debate about artistic influence. Taco Dibbits, director of the Rijksmuseum, argues that Rembrandt, like Michelangelo and Raphael, often borrowed from earlier works to create something new. 'We always think of genius as coming from nothing,' he said. 'But art is a conversation across time.'
Now, the question is: what kind of dog is it? Experts are split between a French and a Dutch breed, and the Rijksmuseum admits they’ll probably never know for sure. Dibbits calls this a 'poetic license'—a nod to the artists’ creative freedom. 'The breed doesn’t matter,' he added. 'What matters is that it’s unforgettable.'
But here’s where the controversy kicks in: does borrowing ideas from other artists make Rembrandt a genius, or does it dilute his originality? Some might argue that true innovation requires starting from scratch, while others see this as a sign of Rembrandt’s deep understanding of his artistic community. What’s your take? Share your thoughts in the comments below—should artistic influence be celebrated, or does it raise questions about authenticity?
As for the Night Watch itself, its restoration is far from over. With years of work still ahead, the painting continues to surprise us. After all, as Dibbits put it: 'You always discover new things in art—and that’s why Rembrandt is still a giant.'
Amsterdam, Art, Netherlands
