Rijksmuseum finds inspiration for dog in Rembrandt's The Night Watch

The Rijksmuseum has identified the source of inspiration for the barking dog depicted in Rembrandt’s The Night Watch. The famous painter based the dog on a drawing by Adriaen van de Venne from 1619, the museum announced on Tuesday.

During an exhibition at the Zeeuws Museum, curator Anne Lenders noticed Van de Venne’s drawing and recognized its resemblance to the dog in The Night Watch. “The head, collar, and stance are so strikingly similar that Rembrandt must have used this drawing as inspiration,” she said. Art historical research conducted by the Rijksmuseum has confirmed this connection.

Van de Venne’s drawing depicts the biblical story of Joseph being seduced by Potiphar’s wife, and was the design for the title page of a book by Jacob Cats from 1620. It is unknown whether Rembrandt owned the drawing, but according to the Rijksmuseum, it is certain that the dog in the image inspired him when painting the barking dog in The Night Watch.

The drawing has been part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection since 1919. The Zeeuws Museum had it on loan when Lenders noticed in 2024 that the dog in the drawing closely resembled the one in The Night Watch.

According to the Rijksmuseum, “the most striking similarity” is an identical tilt of the head of both dogs. In addition, the collars closely match, as do the posture and “the dark line indicating the position of the right eye.”

Beyond the visual similarities between the dogs, the Rijksmuseum also noted further evidence suggesting Rembrandt was familiar with Van de Venne’s drawing. He explored the same theme in his 1655 painting Potiphar’s Wife Accuses Joseph.

Rembrandt frequently drew inspiration from prints and drawings by other artists, including when determining the poses of the militiamen in The Night Watch.