Take my hand

Captain Frans Banninck Cocq’s hand seems to stick right out of the painting. With this gesture he orders his lieutenant to call the company into action: the militiamen have to march out.

Perfectly lit

The captain’s hand casts a shadow on the costume worn by Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburch. This indicates the direction from which the light falls in the painting.

The mascot

Hanging from the girl’s waist-band is a chicken with large claws, behind which can just be seen a kind of pistol known as a ‘klover’. The claws and the klover were the symbols of this militia company, the ‘Kloveniers’, or Arquebusiers, and the girl serves as the company’s ‘mascot’.

Rembrandt, is that you?

This figure with just one eye visible and wearing a beret may well be Rembrandt himself. The exposed part of the face bears a resemblance to some of his self-portraits.

To the left, to the left

Sergeant Rombout Kemp points to the left. Rembrandt introduced action into the painting by means of this gesture.

Papilio phorcas

The apple-green swallowtail, or green-banded swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae.

Papilio zagreus

This butterfly of the family Papilionidae is found in South America, including Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and western Brazil.

Graphium antheus

The large or larger striped swordtail is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae, found in tropical and sub-Saharan Africa.

Papilio dardanus

The yellow swallowtail butterfly is thought to be one of the most famous butterfly species in Africa.