The 17th century was marked by the heyday of the Dutch school of painting, which was associated with the emergence of the middle class and the absence of a rigid dictate of the church. It was the latter circumstance that led to the fact that instead of paintings on religious subjects, painters began to paint paintings depicting scenes from the lives of their contemporaries, still lifes and landscapes. In addition, many workshops and organizations of citizens began to order group portraits. In particular, Rembrandt’s painting “Night Watch” is a painting painted at the request of members of the Netherlands Rifle Society. Today it is recognized as one of the masterpieces of world painting, and some of its fragments are interpreted by experts and experts studying the history of art in a variety of ways.
The author of the painting “Night Watch”: biography
Rembrandt van Rijn was born in 1606 in the city of Leiden. He was educated at the Latin school, operating at a local university, and at the same time attended painting classes, which were conducted by the famous artist Jacob van Svanenbürh. At the age of 17, the young man went to Amsterdam and took lessons from Peter Lastman for 4 years, at which he met Jan Leavens. After completing their studies, young people decided to establish a workshop in Leiden, and in a few years they managed to achieve certain successes.
In 1631, Rembrandt returned to Amsterdam, married the daughter of the Mayor of the city of Leeuwarden, and began to paint portraits of wealthy Amsterdam. However, a happy family life lasted only 10 years: in 1641, the artist buried his beloved wife, left with a one-year-old son in his arms.
Night Watch Customers
A year after this loss, Rembrandt received a large order from eighteen shooters under the command of Frans Bunning Coc - to write a group portrait of their company, for which he was promised, and subsequently paid 1,600 florins. Today, this painting is known as “Night Watch” - a picture that is considered the forerunner of such areas of painting as realism and impressionism. Unfortunately, contemporaries, including customers, did not appreciate this work, and it caused the public to cool the artist, which ultimately led him to poverty.
"Day Watch"
What is depicted on this canvas, the content of certain fragments of which for more than a century has caused controversy among experts and painting lovers? First of all, it must be said that the painting “Night Watch”, a photo of which can be seen in almost all booklets devoted to the work of Rembrandt, depicts the scene of preparation for the parade. This means that the action takes place during the day. So why did the artist regret the colors and portray twilight? This riddle has long haunted researchers. However, the answer turned out to be very simple, since during the restoration it became clear that the lack of lighting is not an artistic device, but an ordinary soot. In addition, it was found that the name “Night Watch” the painting received only in the 19th century. Be that as it may, today this Rembrandt's masterpiece appears before visitors to the State Museum of Amsterdam in its original form and invariably arouses admiration among connoisseurs of fine art.
Web size
The size of the work of Rembrandt, commissioned by a company of civilian militia shooters, is 437 by 363 cm. However, it was found that the canvas, today known as “Night Watch”, is a painting that represents only a large part of the original, which initially had significantly larger parameters. The fact is that for unknown reasons, a fragment depicting Jacobs Dirksen de Roy and Jan Brugman was subsequently cut out. Fortunately, a copy made in the 17th century by Gerrit Lundens was preserved, allowing us to judge how the original looked before the damage.
“Night Watch”: description of the painting
The painting depicts a group of musketeers led by Captain Kok, who is dressed in a black camisole and gestures, giving orders to Lieutenant van Reitenburg. Behind the latter is the musketeer Jan Leidekers Klasen, and in the background in the cylinder is the spearman Jan Okkersen. Another noteworthy figure is Jan van der Hede, dressed in a red camisole, charging a musket. All these people are surrounded by many other characters, some of which are not related to arrows at all. For example, to this day the figure of a girl in a luxurious golden dress causes controversy, since it is not clear why the artist portrayed a child among armed men. This once again confirms the view that “Night Watch” is a picture full of mysteries.
The fate of the canvas
When Rembrandt presented the painting to the militia shooters, they could not hide their disappointment, because what they saw did not correspond to the group portrait that existed at that time. In particular, customers hoped that they would be depicted in much the same way that today photographers offer schoolchildren to settle in traditional photographs to mark the end of the school year. However, instead, the artist handed them a canvas on which was full of unknown characters, and some arrows were in the background, and their figures were almost invisible. Thus, the painting, which is recognized as a masterpiece by everyone who has been studying Rembrandt’s work for about 200 years, has not found recognition among contemporaries. Moreover, for many years she sagged in one of the far corners of the town hall, until she, in poor condition, was discovered by the artist Van Dyck, who saw the author’s name under a layer of dust.
“Night Watch”: Legends and Hoaxes
Today, one can often come across such a strange description of Rembrandt’s painting that one can only wonder at the ignorance of the people who invent them. For example, some pseudo-researchers recently expressed the version that all the gestures of the characters point to two noble Amsterdam depicted on the left (from the audience) edge of the canvas, who ordered the assassination of Lieutenant van Reitenburg. Moreover, they assure that it was precisely this attempt of Rembrandt to expose the killers that caused the wrath of the criminals, and they did everything to plunge the artist into poverty. However, it must be said that the said officer died only in 1657, and the artist could not have known what Van Reitenburg was waiting for 15 years after the creation of the Night Watch.
3D-model of “Night Watch”
The work of Rembrandt, who, after writing a picture depicting militia shooters, stopped receiving orders and died in poverty, again interested art lovers only in the 19th century. Today, works and even sketches made by this artist are sold at auctions for fabulous money, and his canvases are considered decoration of the collections of the largest museums in the world.
A few years ago, Russian sculptors M. Dronov and A. Taratynov decided to create a 3D model of Night Watch. She represents 22 bronze figures in human height, repeating in great detail the appearance of the characters of the famous canvas. Today, this work adorns Rembrandt Square in Amsterdam and is very popular among tourists.
When someone wants to talk about “Night Watch”, the description of the picture, no matter how complete and detailed it may be, cannot convey the impression that encompasses everyone who faces this masterpiece in the hall of the State Museum of Amsterdam. And all the rest is left to look at the photos or wait for the 3D model of the Dozor to be brought back to Russia.