The Star of the Kings: A Night Piece

Rembrandt likely knew Jan van de Velde the Younger’s dark yet straightforward rendition of the Twelfth Night festivities, in which the artist bathed his star-singers in sufficient lantern light so that their features could be made out. In contrast, Rembrandt submerged his revelers in pitch blackness, with only a glimmer of light emanating from their star. Carrying it was an important role (here assumed by a child), and at the end of each verse, pulling a rope set the star in motion. Rembrandt suggested a second group of singers in the far left, clustered around their own tiny, bright star.