If the dog in one corner of Rembrandt’s “ The Night Watch ” painting looks a little out of place as the brave citizens of Amsterdam march out to defend the city — it is.

New research into Rembrandt van Rijn’s 1642 masterpiece suggests that this barking dog was inspired by the title page of a widely available book on the temptations of the flesh, illustrated by the Dutch artist, poet and publisher Adriaen van de Venne.

A dog featured in the bottom right corner of Rembrandt's "The Night Watch." Rijksmuseum

Detail of the dog in a 1619 illustration by artist Adriaen van de Venne. Rijksmuseum

“The Night Watch” is currently being publicly restored inside a glass box at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The museum’s curator of 17th century Dutch paintings, Anne Lenders, said she realized

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