Historian reveals men in Rembrandt's Night Watch

Reuters ^ | 13 Mar 2009 | Aaron Gray-Block

[BGHater]

New life has been breathed into Dutch master painter Rembrandt's 'Night Watch', the famous dark-toned 17th-century painting of city guards gathering to march

For more than three centuries, the identity of the men depicted in the massive portrait hanging in Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum have been unknown, but a Dutch historian now claims to have identified them all.

The painting, some 363 cm by 437 cm, is considered the Rijksmuseum's most famous painting.

The Rijksmuseum said on Wednesday retired historian Bas Dudok van Heel has identified the men after years of research.

"It is great for both the museum and the public because the Night Watch is not only a beautiful image, it comes to life when you read the story of the people and see the faces of the people on it," said Taco Dibbits, Director of Rijksmuseum Collections.

The Night Watch, also known as the 'Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch', is a massive group portrait of a division of the Amsterdam civic guard, depicted as though they have just moved into action and are about to march off.

The civic guard were used to defend the city from the Spaniards and to keep order, but at the time of Rembrandt's painting they had become more like a gentlemen's club.

In about 1715, a shield was painted onto the Night Watch containing 18 names, but only a few were known to belong to identified figures in the portrait.

But Dudok van Heel has been able to link each name to a figure in the painting after researching families, their financial position and their business contacts, the museum said.

"He even found items of clothing and accessories depicted in the Night Watch mentioned in inventories of estates," the Rijksmuseum said in a statement.

[BGHater]

Wiki-Night Watch (painting)

[bgill]

He then collated the information with the age of the various militiamen in 1642, the year the painting was completed, to identify each of the figures.

Not very reliable. There's a painting of our ancestor which shows him very old. The problem is at the time of the event he was a teenager. The artist painted him as he was at the time of the painting.

Well, this is all very interesting but would be more so if in one of the articles they'd list the names of the men and a short bio of each. As it is, we're all still in the dark as to who they are.

[BGHater]

Yeah, I did a cursory search for the names. Nada. I think he is holding back for a while to build up interest for the Museum.

[andy58-in-nh]

Upon seeing The Night Watch in Amsterdam, what I recall most was how HUGE it was. The painting itself is classic Rembrandt: exquisite detail, inspired facial expressions, wondrous motion, all illuminated by single-source light. But I was really amazed to find that it covered an entire wall in the museum. Sort of the opposite of seeing the Mona Lisa in the Louvre: a tiny little postage stamp of a picture in a frame that appears too large for it.

What really blew me away though about Amsterdam was spending hours looking at all of this incredible art representing the best of the mind of Man, and then walking out onto the public plaza to a horde of dirty, smelly, dope-smoking stoners laying casually about with their rotting backpacks, looking for handouts as usual. That pointed contrast between civilization and the lack thereof has always stayed with me.

[B-Chan]

“Taco Dibbits” would make a great Freeper name.

[lovecraft]

Been there twice, saw this painting the last time I was there. It really is huge!

[mylife]

Shine, shine, the light of good works shine
The watch before the city gates depicted in their prime
That golden light all grimy now
Three hundred years have passed
The worthy Captain and his squad of troopers standing fast
The artist knew their faces well
The husbands of his lady friends
His creditors and councillors
In armour bright, the merchant men
Official moments of the guild
In poses keen from bygone days
The city fathers frozen there
Upon the canvas dark with age
The smell of paint, a flask of wine
And turn those faces all to me
The blunderbuss and halberd-shaft
And Dutch respectability
They make their entrance one by one
Defenders of that way of life
The redbrick home, the bourgeoisie
Guitar lessons for the wife
So many years we suffered here
Our country racked with Spanish wars
Now comes a chance to find ourselves
And quiet reigns behind our doors
We think about posterity again
And so the pride of little men
The burghers good and true
Still living through the painter’s hand
Request you all to understand

[Howie]

I had no idea it was a mural-sized painting. He is my favorite of the “Old Masters”. Rembrandt understood the mechanics of using color like very few painters!

[mylife]

John Wetton~The Night Watch

[JoeProBono]

“Taco Dibbits” would make a great Freeper name.”

Bas Dudok van Heel ain’t bad either.

[andy58-in-nh]

What made Rembrandt's colors so effective was his stunning use of light and shadow. Much of his work relied on the use of chiaroscuro, a single-source lighting effect that creates drama and a sense of depth through the use of contrast. In more modern times, Edward Hopper (among my favorites) used similar techniques.

[kitchen]

ping

[Cowboy Bob]

“Taco Dibbits” would make a great Freeper name.

Sounds like the Dutch had a problem with Illegals even during Rembrandt's time! :0)

[SunkenCiv]

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