Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq, Known as the ‘Night Watch’ Rembrandt (1606-1669) Night Watch 1642 Oil on canvas, 379.5 x 453.5 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam Rembrandt‘s largest and most famous painting was made…
Rembrandt (1606-1669) Musical Company 1626 Oil on panel, 63.5 x 48 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam The subject of this painting is a mystery: is it an exhortation to praise God through singing and string music, or a scene of seduction with…
Rembrandt (1606-1669) Landscape with a Stone Bridge 1638 Oil on panel, 29.5 x 42.5 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam Rembrandt painted only a few landscapes, mostly imaginary vistas with mountains in the background. While he might very well have seen the different…
Rembrandt (1606-1669) Isaac and Rebecca, known as ‘The Jewish Bride’ c.1665–1669 Oil on canvas, 121.5 x 166.5 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam To prevent being killed and having his wife captured by King Abimelech, Isaac concealed his love for Rebecca by pretending…
Rembrandt (1606-1669) Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem 1630 Oil on panel, 58 x 46 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam The crestfallen Prophet Jeremiah rests his weary, old head on his hand. He laments Jerusalem going up in flames – in the…
Flinck, Govert (1615-1660) Isaac Blessing Jacob c.1638 Oil on canvas, 117 x 141 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam The Bible recounts how Jacob, pretending to be his brother Esau, tricked their blind father into bestowing Esau’s rightful blessing on him. The idea of…
Flinck, Govert (1615-1660) Rembrandt as Shepherd with Staff and Flute 1636 Oil on canvas, 74.5 x 64 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam Depictions of shepherds and shepherdesses were popular in the 17th century. They show an idyllic world, one full of simple pleasures. Busy…
Lairesse, Gérard de (1641-1711) Bacchus and Ariadne c.1680 Oil on canvas, 175.2 x 92.5 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (on loan from Mauritshuis, The Hague) Ovid described the following scene in his Metamorphoses: on the island of Naxos, Bacchus, the god of wine, chances upon…
Lairesse, Gérard de (1641-1711) Mercury Ordering Calypso to Release Odysseus c.1680 Oil on canvas, 132 x 96 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam During his wanderings, Odysseus encounters the nymph Calypso, who falls in love with him and holds him captive on her island.…
Lairesse, Gérard de (1641-1711) Odysseus and Calypso c.1680 Oil on canvas, 125 x 94 cm Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam The Greek poet Homer recounts how the heroic warrior Odysseus found refuge on the island of the nymph Calypso. The Trojan War is over:…