"The 50 Paintings" Project

Painting # 26

"The Night Watch" by Rembrandt

 

A really big painting at nearly 12 feet by 14 feet was made by Rembrandt 375 years back.

 Its now in Rijksmuseum (national museum)  in Amsterdam

This scene though called "The Night Watch" is actually set in daytime.

 The dark background  is because here the varnish turned dark  with dirt and age. 

It shows the Kloveneirs or the military men who were civic guards and defended the city.

Rembrandt seems to have made an appearance in this painting as a barely there figure with only upper half of his face and his beret visible. 

Rembrandt has shown three musketeers prominently displaying the three steps in firing a musket , weapon commonly used at that time by the civic guards.

   The Golden Girl in the painting looks like the misfit among the civic guards or Kloveneirs

but Rembrandt put her there as a personification of this militia company because she has a chicken hanging on her waist and the claws of the chicken were the symbol of this militia  called Kloveneirs.

The painting has undergone two major changes -  
Firstly its left side was chopped down as it was too big to fit in the space so two figures on the extreme left are missing now.

Then somebody after many years added a shield in the painting which bears the names of the 18 main soldiers who were depicted by Rembrandt.

By the way there is also a dog barking...can you spot him? 

P.S

When the Rijksmuseum opened after 10 years of renovation , a Flash Mob was organized in a Mall to create interest in people in which they recreated a live version of this painting where you can see the colonel, the lieutenant, the Golden Girl and the musketeers all in action.

 Follow this link (or cut and paste in your browser) if you would like to see this interesting piece.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSIXleVWPaE 

"The 50 Paintings" Project

Painting # 25

"Florence" by Sharu Anjirbag

 

This Painting is 5 ft by 5 ft 

and 

done in Acrylics and Oil Paints both.

Its a panoramic view of the city of Florence,  taken from a height where stands this horse statue.

Far away near the foothills of those mountains somewhere is  where Leonardo Da Vinci lived.

I liked that thought that while painting there must have been moments when my  paintbrush must have  touched the exact spot where he lived and painted:) 

 

 

painting..
in..
progress...
:)

It took me on an average 6 hours of work for 25 days to finish it .

  

 This Painting now hangs in a beautiful bungalow and my client was kind enough to send me the picture after it was framed...Sharing with you.

 

 

Hope you enjoyed . Take care and Love

 

"The 50 Paintings" Project

Painting # 24

Washington crossing the Delaware

 by 

Emanuel Leutze

A really big painting 144 inches x 255 inches - 166 years old - is displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York




Emanuel Leutze had started the first one in 1849 which was lost in fire in 1850. It was restored but again destroyed in 1942 in bomb raids of World War II.

Emanuel must have got some intuition because in 1850 he anyway started a second version of this

painting which is what you see in the Met New York today.

The painting shows George Washington - the commander in Chief of the Continental Army - crossing the Delaware River on the night of Dec 25th 1776 with his troops.

Why was he crossing the Icy River ?

To launch a surprise attack on the British Troops at Trenton. 

 






Because the 13 colonies had joined hands and revolted against British Raj. 
These 13 colonies formed the United States of America and declared Independence against Great Britain . 
........And launched the American War of Independence. 

So there you are - George Washington crossed the Icy River , defeated the British Army (Which was mostly comprised of German Soldiers as Britain thought it better to outsource the fighting part..smart huh?) won the Battle of Trenton and later went on to become the first President of the United States of America.

  Until next time ~

 

May an Angel walk beside you  :)

"The 50 Paintings" Project

Painting # 23

Goa by Mario Miranda

 

 Mario de Miranda was an Indian cartoonist and Painter from Goa  whose cartoons , sketches and paintings brought to life the vibrant scenes of Goa and Mumbai.

He worked with The Illustrated Weekly and for many years drew for "Busybee" Behram Contractor the editor of "The Afternoon"

His two famous characters were Miss Nimbupaani and Miss Fonseca .

If you go to Cafe Mondegar in Colaba check out the big wall mural by him. 

Mario Miranda was 

conferred the Padma Bhushan ,

the Padma Shri and 

the Padma Vibhushan postumously  after he passed away in 2011 .

   

 These sketches are typical of Mario's style where he gives the effect of light and darkness just with a single nib pen.

 He captures the everyday life of Goa and Mumbai in such a simple and beautiful way that its enough to make any Goan nostalgic even today.

..For that matter any Mumbaikar as well :)