The Night Watch
Rembrandt made this group portrait for a hall of Amsterdam's civic guard. The museum calls it his largest and most famous canvas, and holds it on loan from the City of Amsterdam.
Read the museum recordYour AI tour guide for the Rijksmuseum
Photograph a work in the Rijksmuseum and Lensmark tells you who made it, when, and why it matters, with every fact linked to its source.
Your tour guide, today
Rijksmuseum
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Lensmark is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Rijksmuseum.
PrivacyTake a photo and read the work's sourced story
Illustrative photo demo
Illustrative photo demo
Illustrative collection
- Take a permitted photo Use a photo allowed by the museum's current rules.
- Read the sourced history When Lensmark can verify the work, it explains what the sources support and links to them. When it cannot, it says so plainly.
- Ask a follow-up Continue with a question about the work's maker, age or significance.
- Your Rijksmuseum walk saves itself. Just take pictures. Each work is kept with its sourced history, grouped by day.
Images in the demo: The Night Watch, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1642; The Milkmaid, Johannes Vermeer, about 1660; Self-portrait, Rembrandt van Rijn, about 1628. All three are Rijksmuseum works reproduced from public-domain files on Wikimedia Commons.
What the Rijksmuseum collection covers
The Rijksmuseum brings Dutch art and history together with European and Asian works. Its collection includes The Night Watch and The Milkmaid. History
It is the national museum of the Netherlands, founded in 1800, and its own collection pages name The Night Watch and The Milkmaid among the highlights. Alongside painting, the collection holds sculpture, decorative arts, photography and Asian art.
Its collection strengths include Dutch Golden Age painting, European decorative arts, prints and drawings, and Asian art.
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The Milkmaid
Vermeer made a kitchen task the focus of a carefully lit scene. The museum's record dates it to about 1660 and holds it as object SK-A-2344.
Read the museum record -
Self-portrait
Rembrandt scratched into wet paint with the end of his brush to shape the curls. The museum's record dates it to about 1628 and holds it as object SK-A-4691.
Read the museum record
These are collection records, not confirmation that the works are on display today.
Check the photography rules first
The Rijksmuseum permits visitor photography that does not inconvenience others, with no tripods or additional lighting and no photography in the exhibition wing or the Cuypers Library. Read its current visitor conditions and follow gallery signs before taking a photo. Rijksmuseum photography policy
Lensmark needs a connection to answer, so check your signal or any visitor Wi-Fi before you photograph a work.