The figures in Rembrandt's "The Night Watch" worked as what?

The figures in Rembrandt's “The Night Watch” worked as city guards. More precisely, they belonged to an Amsterdam civic militia company, the Kloveniers, whose members helped protect the city and maintain public order.

Rembrandt completed the painting in 1642 after Captain Frans Banninck Cocq and other militia members commissioned it for the Kloveniersdoelen, their meeting hall. It is a group portrait, but Rembrandt made the guards appear to be moving into action rather than posing stiffly. The company included officers, musketeers, pikemen and a drummer.

The familiar title is misleading: the scene is not necessarily set at night. The dark appearance resulted partly from centuries of varnish and accumulated grime, although the painting’s dramatic light-and-shadow effects also contributed. The work’s full title identifies the group as the militia company commanded by Captain Cocq, while “The Night Watch” became the popular shorthand.