What do I think of the master now, after so many years?
Come with me, reader, let us look together at the strongest expression
of Rembrandt's art, viz., his picture "The Night Patrol."
Our way leads us now to the Ryksmuseum, and we sit down in the newly
built "Rembrandt room," with our backs to the light, so as to obtain a
full view of the picture, and we try to forget all about the struggle it
cost to erect this temple of art.
At first sight, we are struck by the grand movements of light and shade,
which seem to flood the canvas as if with waves of coloured harmonies.
Then, suddenly, two men seem to step out from the group. The one is
dressed in sombre-coloured clothes, whilst the other is resplendent in
white. That is Rembrandt all over, not afraid of putting the light in
bold contrast against the dark. So as to maintain the harmony between
the two he makes the dark man lift his hand as if he were pointing at
something, and in doing so, he casts a softening shadow on his brilliant
companion. Genius finds a way where ordinary mortals are at a loss how
to help themselves. Clearly these men are in earnest conversation with
each other, and it is quite evident that they are the leaders of the
company.
But when everything was put on the canvas that he intended to put there,
the master stood in front of it and shook his head.
To him these two leaders did not stand out sufficiently from the rest.
So he took up his palette again, and again he dipped his broadest
brushes deep in paint and with a few mighty strokes he transformed these
two figures; a little more depth here, some more light there. He tried
every means to give the scene more depth, and a fuller meaning. Then he
saw that it was all right and left it.
The likeness of his patrons was, perhaps, not very exact and most likely
some murmurs were raised at the want of minutely finished detail; but he
did not heed such matters. To him the main point was to make his figures
live and breathe and move; and see how he succeeded! From the plumes of
their hats to the soles of their feet everything is living, tangible.
How full of energy and character are their heads! Their dress, the steel
gorget, the boots of the man in white; everything bears witness to the
wonderful power of the master.
And look at the man in black, with his red bandolier, his gloves, and
his stick. This does not strike one as anything out of the common,
because the composition is so true, so perfectly natural and simple. I
cannot remember having seen a single picture in which the peculiar style
and picturesqueness of those days is so vividly expressed, as in the
figures of these two men calmly walking along on the giant canvas.
Now let us turn to the right and have a look at the perspiring drummer.
His pock-marked face, overshadowed by a frayed hat, is of the true
Falstaff type. The swollen nose, the thick-lipped mouth, every detail is
carried out with the daring of the true artist which characterises all
the master's work. Look at him, drumming away as if he wanted to make it
known that he himself is one of the most magnificent specimens of the
work of the genius whom men call Rembrandt.
On looking at this man I can understand why Gerard de Lairesse exclaimed
in his great book on painting: "In Rembrandt's pictures the paint is
running down the panel like mud!" But it was only his conscientious
narrow-mindedness which made him say it. Genius never fails to get into
conflict with narrow thought.
But now let us turn our attention to the left-hand corner. There we see
that pithy soldier all in red. Rembrandt, with his intuitive knowledge
of chiaroscuro, was not afraid of painting a figure all in red. He knew
that the play of light and shade on the colour would help him out. Here
part of the red is toned down by a beautiful soft tint, which makes the
whole figure blend harmoniously with the greyish-green of the others.
This man in red, too, has been treated in the same masterly manner of
which I spoke above. If one looks at him attentively, it seems as if the
man, who apparently might step out of the canvas at any rate, had been
painted with one powerful sweep of the brush. How firm is the treatment
of the hand loading the gun; how true the shadows on the red hat and
jerkin. There the figure stands, alert, living, full of movement, rich
in colour.
In this marvellous picture we come across something striking at every
turn. How life-like is the halberdier looking over his shoulder; and the
man who is inspecting his gun, just behind the figure in white; observe
the wonderful effect of the laughing boy in the grey hat against the
dark background. Even the pillar which serves as a background to the man
with the helmet adds to the harmony of the whole.
But here we meet with something peculiar! What is that quaint little
girl doing among all those men?
[Illustration: PLATE VIII.--HEAD OF A YOUNG MAN. (Unknown)