Museum/Gallery Visit. Visual & Performing Arts Essay

Museum/Gallery Visit
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This analysis will focus on the virtual gallery at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum virtual exhibition. The artwork is by Rembrandt van Rijn titled Night Watch, Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq that was painted in 1642. It is an oil on canvas painting with dimensions h 379.5cm Ч w 453.5cm Ч w 337kg (Ruks Museum, n.d.).


Figure 1: Night Watch, Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1642, oil on canvas, h 379.5cm Ч w 453.5cm Ч w 337kg
Artist
The artwork is by Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) and is it one of the most famous works that was created for the Arquebusiers guildhall. He was a prolific draftsman and painter and is regarded as one of the greatest artists during the “Golden Age” in Holand. He used to work in his native Leiden but then moved to Amsterdam from 1632 where he was tutored briefly by Pieter Lastman, another influential painter. Rembrandt never travelled abroad, but he often analysed the works by Italian artists. The early artists also influenced him in the Netherlands like Lucas van Leyden. He also studied people, the surroundings and objects which were evident are some of his earlier works. His use of direct observation was a common attribute of his work. He was very influential to many German and Dutch painters who came up during the eighteenth century.
Analysis
The canvas painting is a group portrait of a militia company which was part of the Amsterdam civic guard. It contains figures in a group portrait who are doing different activities. The captain has a black outfit, and he is informing the lieutenant to alert the company to start matching. The guardsmen are also lining up into a formation. The artist r...