News appeared this week that Rembrandt most likely based the barking dog in The Night Watch on an early seventeenth-century drawing by Adriaen van de Venne (1590–1662). The remarkable resemblance between Rembrandt’s dog and the dog on Van de Venne’s drawing, that has been in the Rijksmuseum collection for over a century, was recently discovered through the art historical research carried out as part of Operation Night Watch. Curator Anne Lenders shares her findings in the latest issue of the Rijksmuseum Bulletin.

The issue also contains an article by Frits Scholten about a bronze muscleman, or écorché, generally attributed to the Delft sculptor Willem van Tetrode (1525-1580), which the Rijksmuseum acquired in 2023. Also noteworthy is a shorter notice in which Boudewijn Bakker presents an alternative approach to the interpretation of Rembrandt’s Standard Bearer.

Recent acquisitions discussed in this issue include an engraving by the Master of the Large Passion, an etching that is here attributed to Cornelis van Dalem, a chalk drawing by Roelant Savery, and a drawing by Josua de Grave.

The Rijksmuseum Bulletin is available in open access on bulletin.rijksmuseum.nl.

Vol. 73 No. 3 (2025)

Editorial
The Night Watch Uncovered
Bulletin editors

Articles
Marian and Commemorative Iconography Combined: The ‘Spes Nostra’ Epitaph in the Context of the Liturgical Practices of Mariënpoel Convent
Rens Tienstra

‘Why are you stripping me from myself?’ Willem van Tetrode’s Écorché and its Nachleben
Frits Scholten

Shorter Notices
The Dog in The Night Watch: Rembrandt Inspired by Adriaen van de Venne
Anne Lenders

Hero or Buffoon? Remarks on Rembrandt’s Standard Bearer
Boudewijn Bakker

Acquisitions
Print Room Acquisitions
Marian Cousijn, Hinde Haest, Erik Hinterding, Marije Jansen, Charles Kang, Huigen Leeflang, Austėja Mackelaitė, Hans Rooseboom, Maud van Suylen, Joyce Zelen