The Night Watch, after the work of Rembrandt van Rijn, abstract by Miriam Groenen-Ruis

About "The Night Watch, after the work of Rembrandt van Rijn, abstract"

by Miriam Groenen-Ruis

About the artwork

Officers and other gunners of district II in Amsterdam, led by Captain Frans Banninck Cocq and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburch, known as 'The Night Watch'.

A work of art that almost every Dutchman will know and recognize. This abstract version of the centuries-old painting by Rembrandt van Rijn, shows that with little detail we can still see a clear picture of this classic. Because of the abstraction, the main characters of the painting come out even more clearly. Attention now falls on the important use of light, the chiaroscuro, now that we are no longer distracted by details of faces, for example. Despite this, the work is full of detail in the form of abstract expressionist paint strokes.

The group portrait, Rembrandt's most famous and largest painting, was made for the cleavers' targets. This was one of the three headquarters of Amsterdam's militia, the city's civic guard, which was to provide protection for this new metropolis. A title that Amsterdam had acquired through global overseas trade.

The captain, in black, orders his lieutenant that the company should march. The archers line up. Using light, Rembrandt drew attention to important details, including the little girl in the foreground on the left. She is the archers' mascot.

Based on the work of the old master, world famous and proud of the Netherlands; Rembrandt van Rijn
From: the Rijkscollection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, object number SK-C-5

In the collection: New Masters