In which museum is Rembrandt’s The Night Watch displayed?

Rembrandt’s The Night Watch is displayed in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

The monumental painting occupies a specially designed place of honor in the museum’s Gallery of Honour. Its official title refers to the militia company commanded by Captain Frans Banning Cocq, but the popular nickname The Night Watch became established because the darkened appearance once suggested a nighttime scene.

The painting was completed in 1642 and originally hung in Amsterdam’s Kloveniersdoelen, the meeting place of the civic guard company. It was later moved, and in 1715 it was transferred to Amsterdam’s City Hall, where it was cut down on several sides to fit between doors. The missing strips have never been recovered.

The Rijksmuseum has treated the work as a major conservation object. In 2019, researchers began Operation Night Watch, a large public examination and restoration project using imaging, computer analysis, and other scientific methods. The museum therefore preserves both the painting and a major record of its study.