Het korporaalschap van kapitein Frans Banninck Cocq en luitenant Willem van Ruytenburch, bekend als de 'Nachtwacht' Possibly 1863

This print of the Night Watch, now in the Rijksmuseum, was made by Johann Wilhelm Kaiser in the 19th century. The printmaking process itself, with its reliance on repeatable matrixes, introduces questions of labor and value. The original painting, by Rembrandt, was an innovative group portrait of a civic militia, which would have been key to the protection and governance of the city. Kaiser’s print flattens the original’s dynamism into a more graphic rendition, and the textures become uniform across surfaces. It’s easy to miss the many long hours of labor that went into its making. Seen in this light, the print can be understood as an early form of mass media, which democratizes access to the image while also altering its aura. It allows us to consider art history as something made not only by famous artists, but by legions of unsung artisans too.