Rembrandt | Page 9

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)
In the Louvre]
Numbers of critics have racked their brains about the