Not Actually Night

Rembrandt van Rijn finished this huge group portrait in 1642. Its real title is The Militia Company of District II under Captain Frans Banning Cocq — a mouthful nobody uses. Over the years, layers of darkened varnish dimmed the colors until the scene looked like it happened at night. People nicknamed it The Night Watch, and the name stuck. Cleaning later proved the militia is marching out in broad daylight.

Most group portraits of the era lined people up like a class photo, each face equally lit and equally bored. Rembrandt did the opposite. He froze a single moment of action: the company is mustering, a drummer pounds out a beat, a dog barks at the noise, and a small girl in a glowing dress slips through the crowd from nowhere. It is a portrait that refuses to sit still.