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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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sanden
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