by If most people copy the pictures or ideas of another, this is generally considered a plagiarism. But when Rembrandt did it, it was “emulation” – an exhibition of his craft, as experts said when they revealed research that pointed out a picture that was “inspired” by one of the most famous paintings by the Dutch master.
The Night Watch, Rembrandt’s masterpiece from 1642, shows the citizens of Amsterdam, who march to defend the city, shows a barking dog in the right corner, which is largely copied by a popular drawing of a lesser -known Dutch artist.
An academic paper by Anne Lenders, a curator in the Rijksmuseum, indicates the many similarities between the dog of the night watch and a dog illustration on the front page of a guide from the 17th century how to defend yourself against sexual temptations.
Taco Dibbits, General Director of the Rijksmuseum, told The Guardian that Rembrandt – just like Shakespeare – was pulled far and shamelessly from previous sources.
“They see that in Italian treatises on painting in the 16th century it was really the intention that they would copy a lot as a starting artist, make it their own so that they could improve it and continue the work that another artist had left,” he said. “Rembrandt wanted to compete with the Italian masters Raphael, Titian and Michelangelo. Now they could plagiate or copy it, but it was really not during this time – it was called emulation.”
The lenders, a curator of the art of the 17th century, which was involved in the public renovation of the night watch, said she recognized Rembrandt’s source when she attended an exhibition at the Zeeeuws Museum in Middelburg last year.
“I just walked through the rooms and suddenly my eye fell on a book by Jacob Cats with a dog,” she said. “[The Dutch artist, poet and publisher] Adriaen van de Venne had made this drawing for the front page, and there the dog is only shown in a reflection. “
She was immediately reminded of the night watch, watched the picture on her phone and decided to further study it. She added the chalk that the night clock subjected to the last Hi-Tech scans even more similarities.
In the last painting, Rembrandt gave his dog a more active position and imagined that he barked with his tongue.
“Barking dogs don’t have their tongue out of their mouths, but that’s the case here,” said Dibbits, adding that the animal was probably not so close to an animal skin drum: “Dogs are often very afraid of drumming.”
However, it was a device to reach a corner of the painting, the lenders said. “It’s fascinating like [Rembrandt] Place it in a corner in the shade to make it more exciting and insert a moment of the campaign, ”she said.
Van de Venne was born in Delft in 1589 and became a versatile painter of the Dutch golden age and although he never reached the recognition of Rembrandt, he was popular. The work he did with cats, a poet and thinker who was best known for his moralist emblem books made him particularly familiar with his contemporaries.
