Pieter Barbiers I (1717-1780) was a prolific draughtsman, teacher and designer based for the majority of his life in Amsterdam. Trained by his father Anthony Barbiers (1676-1726), Pieter went on to teach his children, and together the family produced a distinguishable output of works on paper many of which are catalogued in the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD). The present drawing is listed by the title Nachtwaker en vrouw bij een fontein in the RKDimages database (No. 38903).

In addition to ink drawings, we can look to watercolors by the artist to compare his attention to subject and color, of which A Herring seller by night (Private Collecton) is a prime example. In this scene, a single lamp glows upon the faces and clothing of four individuals, one of whom crouches nearest to the source of light pointing to a wide woven-basket filled with herring.

The illusionistic narrative in our NIghtwatch depicts a cityscape designed with a perspective that enhances the monumentality of the couple in the forgeound. A prominent crescent moon placed in the center of the composition seems to abandon it's purpose as part of the spear head. In the background, a couple resting under a tree provides context for the viewer to where the initial companions are headed. Both couples, having walked past the sound of running water, a single stream falling out of the cupid standing atop the public fountain in the center of the square, continue undisturbed in the quiet night. The scene may be interpreted as the visual sequence of one couple advancing toward the background, or as two separate groups, each unaware of the others presence.

In the database of images by the Netherlands Institute for Art History it is noted that this drawing was possibly made in preparation for a series of book illustrations.