Detail from the Night Watch, Rembrandt Van Rijn

5. That little blonde girl isn't military—she's a mascot.
This seemingly misplaced moppet carries a chicken with pronounced claws and a pistol called a klover. Both were symbols for the Kloveniers, Amsterdam's civic guard, a guild that commissioned the painting for their meeting hall. More about the painting at http://mentalfloss.com/article/64381/15-things-you-might-not-know-about-rembrandts-night-watch


The little girl is in fact rather adult looking, possibly because her face was modelled on Rembrandt's wife. Sadly, she died not long afterwards, so this is the last 'portrait' of her.


This is a terrible shot, but I hope you may wish to look at the original. It's the second last episode of our course in Dutch paintings, and I shot this slide projection from the front row!