Frans Banninck Cocq

Everyone knows his face, but few know his name. Frans Banninck Cocq is the man in black with the red sash at the centre of Rembrandt's Night Watch. The painting, commissioned in 1638 and finished in 1642, was originally called "The Company of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburch". The nickname Night Watch came later.

A scandal at the christening

He was born in February 1605 on Warmoesstraat and baptised on 27 February. His father, Jan Jansz Cock, was an apothecary from Bremen. His parents were not yet married at the baptism, which caused a stir; they married that September. Frans was named after his maternal grandfather, Frans Banninck.

He studied law in Poitiers and Bourges in France. In 1630 he married Maria Overlander van Purmerland, and through his father-in-law he became lord of Purmerland and Ilpendam, with Ilpenstein castle north of Amsterdam. The couple had no children.

From militia captain to mayor

His career followed the classic path of a regent. He joined the city council in 1634 and served as alderman for many years. In the civic guard, the militia of wealthy citizens, he rose from lieutenant to captain and, from around 1646, colonel. In 1650 he became one of Amsterdam's four burgomasters and he was chosen again in 1651, 1653 and 1654. His brother-in-law was Cornelis de Graeff, the most powerful regent of the day.

Banninck Cocq had a family album made with drawings, coats of arms and a small copy of The Night Watch. It is now on loan to the Rijksmuseum, where the great painting also hangs. He died on 1 January 1655 and was buried in the Oude Kerk. Thanks to Rembrandt, thousands of visitors still look him in the eye every day.