Thomas de Keyser (1596/97 - 1667). The company of Captain Allaert Cloeck and Lieutenant Lucas Jacobsz Rotgans, Amsterdam, 1632. These civil guardsmen were positioned hierarchically: in the centre, on a platform, the captain, the colour-bearer, and the lieutenant. Around them we see three non-commissioned officers, who each have one foot on the platform. The regular riflemen arranged in the background are much smaller than the officers. Despite the fact that the riflemen to the left and right are somewhat crowded together, the composition is animated. The manner in which the three non-commissioned officers appear to be about to step onto the podium suggests a throng beginning to advance. This same solution - a crowd of people moving forward - was chosen by Rembrandt ten years later for his celebrated Night-watch. Painted for the Kloveniersdoelen (headquarters of the crossbowmen's civic guard), Amsterdam. On loan from the city of Amsterdam, 1885.
Thomas de Keyser