Thursday, October 27, 2011

A Celebration of Historic Dutch Militia: Rembrandt's Night Watch.


"The Arquebusier Company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburch," 1642.

Rembrandt's famous Night Watch sees the light of day after multi-million museum revamp.

I've always wanted to see this painting up close, but I doubt at this point in my life that I will. Glad to see it is getting better lighting.


Dutch militia arquebusier.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I worked in Amsterdam for a year and a half. I spent several weekends in the Rijks museum ... up close you can feel the emotion coming off of the painting - something that I have not experienced with other paintings.

Michael Gilson said...

Another piece of evidence that the painting is a day scene that has darkened over time, one of the background figures is using a lens to light the match on his musket. This was pointed out to me years ago when I called the painting "The Night Watch"

Anonymous said...

Interesting to note that generations of art "authorities" waxed eloquent about Rembrandt's use of dark and somber tones in this painting, only to find out recently after a thorough cleaning that they were talking about a layer of candle soot and decomposing varnish.

Ditto for their horror over the "cartoonish" look of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling after it was cleaned of 400 years of filth.

Kinda like the infamous "shoulder thing that goes up".

Some experts aren't very, If you catch my meaning.