Earlier this year, the city of Amsterdam installed a life-size recreation of Rembrandt's famous masterpiece, The Night Watch, in the square named for the artist. Under the watchful gaze of a statue of Rembrandt himself, 22 statues were carefully placed into position exactly as they appear in the painting. It has since become a popular photo-op spot for tourists.
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Bronze figures by Russian artists Alexander Taratynov |
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Although the Rijksmuseum is undergoing major renovations, it's still possible to view the original painting which actually bears the unwieldy title "The Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch." It's part of an exhibition running until the end of the year simply called The Masterpieces in the redesigned Philips Wing.
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Statue in Amsterdam's Rembrandtplein |
Overwhelming presence
"When you enter the museum, you first see a very long gallery and at the end, there hangs The Night Watch." At the beginning of the 20th century, an American art critic described the view of the painting from the entrance as comparable to the first view one might catch of Niagara Falls or the Taj Mahal.
"It's a painting of enormous energy which Rembrandt felt Amsterdam possessed in abundance," according to art historian Simon Schama, author of "Rembrandt's Eyes." He believes it is the artist's greatest masterpiece "because it inhabits the world of fantasy, showmanship, theatre and reality all at the same time." He also thinks it's a painting not only to be viewed but also to be heard:
"Rembrandt was a great painter of noise and this is the noisiest painting he ever did. There are drums beating, dogs barking and muskets shooting. It's an incredible feat of genius to make a two-dimensional painting seem both three-dimensional and violently noisy at the same time. It's absolutely a parade full of sound."
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The Night Watch or The Militia Company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq, 1642, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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As part of Rembrandt Year 400 celebrations, Radio Netherlands commissioned a radio play by Haarlem writer Bies van Ede. He took a real historical event for his starting point. In 1715 when The Night Watch was moved to the Amsterdam City Hall, now the Palace on The Dam, the edges of the painting were cut off because no wall was large enough to accommodate it.
The three-part radio play "The Edges of the Night Watch" follows the journey of art history students Roger and Emma as they try to unravel the mystery of what happened to the missing pieces. Through flashbacks, scenes from the life of Rembrandt also reveal another secret or two about the masterpiece.
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DVD More information: Please contact PR officer Marjolein Klaassen-Hulst on +31 (0) 35 672 42 12, + 31 (0) 6 5115 6394 or marjolein.klaassen@rnw.nl |
Tags: 400, night watch, radio netherlands, radio play, Rembrandt