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8. Rembrandt van Rijn, 1606-1669
The Syndics of the Cloth-Makers
Guild
This
powerful masterpiece grows on
you the longer you study it.
Six men are responding to a
spoken word by the unseen object
of their attention. Something
has just been said that draws
varying responses, vividly etched
on the six faces—skepticism,
distrust, bemusement. The group's
chairman (gesturing) is readying
his next question.
Rembrandt
sets the standard here for the
group portrait. All six heads
are modeled by the light of
a window high up on our left,
exemplifying in each case the
famous style of light and shade
recognized universally and bearing
the artist's name—Rembrandt
lighting. Each portrayal is
vivid and gripping in individual
intensity. The combined effect
is electric and riveting. Whatever
small matter is being discussed
by these Dutch merchants in
a seventeenth century moment
is supercharged by the artist
into an immortal instant of
importance which arrests us
today. |
Rijksmuseum,
Amsterdam
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