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"Rembrandt's J'Accuse": Greenaway dissects The Night Watch

Posted by mr grits on June 20, 2011 at 20:33:17

Peter Greenaway, hoping to enrich our ability to see not just look, takes us through the intricacies of Rembrandt's masterpiece The Night Watch. He lays out elements tied to all 34 people depicted and gives us the history and motives that led to their original leader being shot through the eye and killed at rifle practice one afternoon.

Having only seen The Night Watch in art books, and spending little time actually looking at it, I was amazed at what all was going on in the painting. The fact that it is called "Night Watch" is not even relevant to the actual militia depicted. At the time of the painting militias were not much more than social clubs for the elite. The 12 families of Amsterdam represented were not pleased with it though it was displayed immediately after being finished. It is the most viewed of the 50 or so militia paintings created in Amsterdam on the strength of its immediate public display.

Greenaway appears as our narrator and prosecutor as every element is highlighted and dramatized. The film is a visual feast and interesting from the standpoint of the history revealed from Rembrandt's era. As Greenaway points out, The Night Watch was the beginning of the end for him. The 12 families made sure no one of importance ever commissioned him again! From there he lost most of his assets and ended his life nearly broke.

If you are ready to don your academic cap and gown or tin foil cap with a stiff upper lip by all means stream this from Netflix.

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