| The Night Watchman by Rembrandt is the star turn at the Rijks museum but I think the crowds are missing a trick. Buried nearby in the labyrinth of rooms is the wonderfully titled Banquet of the Crossbowman’s guild in celebration of the signing of the Treaty of Munster by van der Helst. I really don’t think I’ve seen a funnier and more human painting in my life. Whilst the more famous Rembrandt had people standing six deep the van der Helst is poorly attended to with most people just passing by. This is a real shame because if it is a true representation of the guild of crossbow men then they were a real bunch of characters – all of life was present in that one painting and it didn’t matter that this depicted a group of men from 400 years ago they were as a live now as they had been when they sat for the painting.
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