Baroque Art Assessment Blog

Welcome to the Baroque Era


    Hello, and welcome back to my blog. This time around, we dove into the Baroque Era, which I have to admit - I had never heard of this era until we learned it in class, and I'm still having slight trouble pronouncing it correctly! The art work that was established from this era is stylistically complex, but the desire to evoke emotions in dramatic ways underlies its manifestations. For my blog assessment, I wanted to choose a painting that was a little out of my comfort zone, in hopes that it would help expand the way I perceive art and broaden my horizons of art. I was fascinated by numerous pieces from this era, but the one I chose to dissect is the work from a Dutch painter, Rembrandt Harmenszoon Van Rijn, titled The Night Watch. Rembrandt is considered one of the most influential artists of his time. His paintings are characterized by incredible brushwork, rich color, and a mastery in chiaroscuro. 

The Night Watch

    The Night Watch was painted in 1642, and it currently resides at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. After doing some research on this piece, I found out that the title is incorrect. The so called Night Watch is not a night scene at all - it actually takes place during the day! This title, which was not actually given by Rembrandt, was first applied at the end of the eighteenth century. By that time the painting had darkened considerably through the accumulation of many layers of dirt and varnish, giving the appearance that the event takes place at night. 
    The Night Watch was painted with oil on a 379.5 x 453.5 cm canvas. When I first looked at this painting, I first noticed the numerous officers and men all seemingly surrounding the tall officer front and center, with his shorter looking deputy by his side. I assumed that this officer and partner were of great importance and wealth, especially regarding their clothing. The tall officer is wearing a dark uniform, with a vibrant red wrap around his chest. The vibrancy of this red evokes the emotion of power, riches, and strength. The white ruffled color lining the neck of his uniform is shaped into precise, sharp edges, which honestly makes me think of him as an intimidating peacock, flashing his dominance. His partner is significantly smaller than he his, which solidifies my though that he must be the partner of the man in charge. This man, although secondary to the officer, is decked out in a lavish and bright uniform. The flashy yellow and gold accents of his uniform assert his own power and luxury. The fluffy, soft white feather on his hat almost looks like its glowing more than his entire uniform. The expressions on the two men's faces are look concerned, but hopeful and ready to lead. The main officer is raising his eyebrows while holding his hands out, open palmed, face up, as if he presented a grand idea to his partner. I believe this idea is aimed to help aide whatever controversy is spilling out behind them. 
    The background eludes a great example of the dramatic styling of chiaroscuro. The dark and mysterious background is full of people that are decked out in uniforms and weapons as well, but they are of lesser importance since their uniforms don't radiate and stand out as much as the two officers in front do. They must be the army of the two officers standing front and center. Their facial expressions aren't depicting the same curious hopefulness as the two officers in the front are - they seem to be more focused on each other and what's going on around them. Towards the left of the main officer, a glowing angel is seen giving him a troubled stare, and only him. In a crowd full of people, the angel is locking her stare at him. This leads me to conclude that there is some sort of controversy going on surrounding him, and if something isn't done under his power, then an unpleasant aftermath will come barreling down on him. I think she is an angel from Heaven, because she has a glistening vibrance surrounding her, and the circular shape behind each shoulder depicts wings. Her dress or cloak looks soft, clean, and bright. 
    The shadow work of the background helps establish the dramatic and intimidating feelings of this painting. It also helps make the two officers in the front appear of more importance, since their faces and clothing aren't as shadow-ed out as the others. The shapes of the few weapons depicted in this painting are long and sharp, which evokes the feeling of intimidation and a little dread. 

Further Background on The Night Watch

    After doing some extensive research on this painting, I found out that the two men in the middle were, indeed, civic guardsmen of their city. The proper title for this piece is actually Company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq and Lieutenant Willem Van Ruytenhurch. The guardsmen depicted behind the Captain and Lieutenant had the primary purpose to serve as defenders of their cities. As such, they were tasked with guarding gates, policing streets, putting out fires, and generally maintaining order throughout the city. Additionally, they were an important presence at parades held for visiting royalty as well and other festive occasions. Rembrandt's idea of this painting was to show the pride and civic duty of the Dutch guardsmen protecting their city. 
    Rembrandt had received commission to paint The Night Watch for the Kloveniersdoelen, the headquarters for the Amsterdam civic guardsmen. These guardsmen were under command of Captain Frans Banning Cocq. I believe this painting is a direct influence from royalty, as the purpose of it is to boast the power and glory of the city's proud guardsmen. The purpose of the images shown in his painting was to promote a sense of pride, power, and civic duty that these men held over the townspeople of their city. 
    Rembrandt was a great artist to choose to write an assessment on, as his artwork is one of the most influential, historic, and immaculate pieces of our time. His early work was devoted to showing the lines, light and shade, and color of the people he saw about him, which he clearly excelled at. I hope you all enjoyed diving into this piece as much as I did! See you next time. 

From, Chandler 





Works Cited 


Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 13, 2020 at 6:57 PM

    Chandler,

    I love that you chose a painting that was out of your comfort zone, that says a lot about your desire to learn new things! I had never heard about this style of painting or this time era either until this class. You did a wonderful job explaining this painting in a way that was easy for your readers to understand. I also really like how you went into detail about the colors and the emotions that this painting expresses.

    I think it is absolutely fascinating that the painting has darkened over the years from dirt, I would have never thought that was the reason that the painting was so dark. I feel as though this painting truly explains what the Baroque era was like. From the outfits of the men, to the colors and textures in the painting. It is simple, but also detailed and elegant at the same time. The entire work exudes power. Along with this, when I examine the work, I can feel the nobleness of the men and comradery they share. This painting makes me think of my line of work. As a 911 dispatcher we have to be noble, honest, true, and work together for the good of our community.

    The element in this work that stands out to me the most is tone. The different tones in this painting offset each other, but also complement each other. The dark background makes the colors of red, tan, gold, and even the dark black that is mixed in, stand out and really pop. Another element that I can see is texture. If you look closely, you can see the texture of the paint and even the dirt that has built up over the years on the painting.

    Thank you,
    Allie

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownOctober 16, 2020 at 5:31 PM

    Hi Chandler!

    We chose to analyze the same piece of art this week! Your analysis of the painting is very well done. You clearly put in the time and research to learn all about its history and backstory. I had not realized that the painting had gotten darker over time due to dirt build up. Something that I had learned is this is not actually the full picture! At some point in this painting life, it was cut down from a wall, actually removing two figures that were on the left and removing part of the top of the painting. I found it interesting how you thought the little girl that is lit up with light is an angel. I can definitely see that with the way she is drawn and glowing, much different from anything else in the painting. Did you notice she is holding a chicken? From what I understand, it has something to do with this guild's emblem.

    Great analysis and I enjoyed reading it!

    Aaron Schrage

    ReplyDelete

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